


Returned For a Reason- Cielois

by The_Big_Gay



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Abuse, Abusive Relationships, Black Butler - Freeform, Chaptered, Ciel as A Demon, Cielois - Freeform, Kuroshitsuji - Freeform, Kuroshitsuji II | Black Butler II, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Modern Era, Resurrection, Sebastian hating Alois, after main story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-05-18 15:28:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 27
Words: 40,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14855375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Big_Gay/pseuds/The_Big_Gay
Summary: The old Ciel Phantomhive was dead. Thanks to Alois Trancy and his final deal with his maid, Ciel Phantomhive was no longer a plain human boy. Much to his demonic butler's dismay, Ciel Phantomhive was now himself, a demon. He decided to come to terms with this, rather pleased to have his servant remain by his side for all of eternity. Over a century had passed since that incident, and Ciel was living in modern-day London. Of course, he had staged his death and so on, the Phantomhive family no longer existing. Although, Ciel maintained his wealth, his manor and position. Quite simple for a pair of demons to accomplish. Elizabeth was dead. Any remaining member of his family was dead. Truly, Ciel was for the first time alone.That was, until, Ciel sensed a very familiar presence at a very familiar location. He didn't know why, but he felt compelled to head there immediatley. But, what would he find, in the decaying Trancy Manor...?





	1. That Butler, Travelling.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I would like to thank you for deciding to begin reading this. I write a lot, so I decided I was going to work on something, and see how well I could do. A few things I should point out, there will be triggers such as rape, harm, gore and so on. Most of this will occur through the use of flashback, but that's all.  
> That being said, I hope you all enjoy! Any suggestions or improvements are greatly appreciated.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. The broken clock continued to incessantly tick away, making a frustrating sound. Ciel squinted at the papers before him, his brow furrowing. Tick. Tick. He gritted his teeth, annoyed by the repetitive sound. Ciel couldn't think over this noise. "Sebastian." He mumbled, looking from the corner of his eye. The ticking stopped, the clock no longer active. Sebastian frowned as he looked over his master's shoulder, peering down at the papers.                                                                                                                             

"Young master... Everything in the manor is ancient now. Perhaps I should look into replacing some of the older items?" Sebastian suggested, raising an eyebrow. Ciel waved him away, frowning.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

"You shall do no such thing. I want everything here to remain the same, understood? We already added electrical lights, plug sockets, televisions and computers. I will _not_ replace any of the original clocks and such." Ciel grumbled, shaking his head quickly. Sebastian chuckled and bowed, nodding. There was silence again. Well, not exactly. The only noise was Ciel's pen against the paper, tapping away as he wrote something down. Sebastian was still teaching him new things, and this was a test of sorts. Ciel could possibly have been one of the smartest people in the country, but he didn't really care about others. Not since this. Ciel had never entered a contract with a human, and he had never felt the need to feed on a soul, either. Sebastian explained that the time would come, but he didn't really know when. The pair looked odd, to say the least. They still wore the same style of clothes, despite the fashion being extremely outdated. Ciel still wore his eyepatch, and he looked as youthful as ever. Although, his eye was older. He had never really matured, because he never had to. But he was much stronger now. As strong as his butler, able to do all kinds of amazing things. Ciel finally put his pen down. "I'm done." Ciel said, simply folding his arms across his chest smugly. Sebastian picked up the paper, his face blank as he took a pen and marked it.

"Oh dear." He mumbled, Ciel frowning.

"Oh dear? What do you mean oh-..." Ciel was cut off as the paper was placed in front of him. Crosses and the word 'no' lined it. "EH?!" Ciel exclaimed, muttering as he looked back to the paper. "This is right, look!" Ciel demanded, pointing to one of his answers.

"...Young master, 4 multiplied by 35 is not 39." Sebastian corrected him, narrowing his eyes a little with a smirk.

"Wha-... That was an addition question! You changed it you bastard!" Ciel accused, throwing the paper off his desk. Sebastian sighed and bent down to pick it up.

"Young master, what's the problem? You seem to have been distracted all day. Now you can't even do simple mathematics? What's wrong?" Sebastian asked, pondering what could be the issue.

"There. Can't you sense it? Surely you can." Ciel said, shifting uncomfortably. He had a look of confusion on his face, as he leaned on his arm on the desk. "I'm sure there's something wrong in the air. I can feel it." He added, frowning with annoyance. Ciel drummed his fingers on the desk of his study, before looking to the other demon's concentrated look.

"Yes... You seem to be right. My apologies for not picking up on it sooner young master, but you're right. There's something wrong." Sebastian uttered, pacing around the room. He tapped his chin, thinking. "Something familiar... Like a scent, or a presence. But I can't quite place it." He thought aloud, trying to remember where he'd felt that same thing before. Ciel's face dropped. It turned to horror. Oh no. Was it him? That revolting scent of overpowering sweetness. No... Ciel pushed his chair back with a loud screech and it grinded against the floor.

"Sebastian! Get the car ready, I'm getting changed!" Ciel shouted, before running out of the room as fast as his legs could carry him. He felt sick. This wasn't right. It had been over 120 years. This didn't make sense. Sebastian watched his master with a confused look, before his eyes widened. It was him. Alois Trancy.

* * *

Ciel sat in the back, tapping his foot against the car's floor. What was he to do? Did that demon bring him back? No, surely not. Sebastian killed Claude. And Hannah collected Alois' soul. This didn't make any sense! No matter how Ciel put it, it didn't make sense! Alois couldn't have lived to 120 anyways, that was near impossible. And the manor was rotting away! Ciel knew that. It was decaying, had cobwebs everywhere. Broken windows, a caved-in door and graffiti was lining the place. It was in a complete and utter state of disrepair! So why... why in God's name was Alois back?! "Hurry up, Sebastian!" Ciel shouted, getting impatient. Underneath the fear though, there was something... something else. Ciel didn't know what it was, but it was there. Maybe it was foolish of him, but he didn't even realise what the feeling was. Excitement. Everybody else he knew had died around him. And yet, this one surviving relic of the ancient times could be alive. Was that possible? His senses weren't wrong. And neither were Sebastian's. They both knew who awaited them there. But in what state? And how? Ciel had his blue hair in its normal style, and a fancy black eyepatch over his seal. He wore a blue jacket, with a white shirt underneath, and some plain trousers. Ciel had to look good for this, that was something else on his mind. He had to present himself as an Earl, and show that he was ready for another fight. Ciel had a gun on the inside of his jacket, a 1911 pistol. And he was more than ready for this. Sebastian wore his usual tailcoat and shirt, his hair unkempt as he drove with concerned eyes.

"I'm going the legal limit, young master. Just another minute or two." Sebastian told him, the manor only being a few more streets away. He couldn't figure this out either. Claude was dead. Hannah was elsewhere, maybe not even in the human world. The triplets left the human world. Who could've done this?! It didn't make any sense, damn it! Sebastian gritted his teeth a little. This was beyond his understanding. But he was ready to protect the young master, despite him not needing to really. Ciel had a weapon, and his fair share of powers. Sebastian's protection was unneeded, but their contract still remained. He had to protect Ciel. Finally, the manor came into view. Here they were. Ready for a showdown with their old nemesis. Ciel was excited and nervous, his tainted blood pumping quickly. Sebastian got out, opening the door for Ciel.

"I sense five people." Ciel said, looking up to the demon.

"Me too. They're in the hallway of the manor. Let us go quickly." Sebastian said, gesturing to the door. Ciel drew the gun from its holster, approaching the door. There was another car here, but he didn't pay attention to it. He waited on one side of the door, Sebastian on the other. They listened closely to a woman's voice, speaking loudly.

"...and this place has roots all the way back to the 1880s! Its owner was an Earl of England, Alois Trancy. He was the final owner of the manor, after disappearing at the age of 13. Alois was never found, but never announced dead either. So, the manor is technically still belonging to the Trancy family, but the last few relatives live in foreign countries. And thus, here it is today. It has a lot of interesting history with other Earls, and Alois Trancy had a very shady past." She spoke, her voice echoing in the manor. Ciel looked to Sebastian, a puzzled look on his face. Sebastian looked back, clearly thinking but unable to figure out what it meant. Ciel silently stood up from the wall, placing the gun back in its holster. He had a suspicion about what was happening. But he needed to confirm it. Ciel walked in, Sebastian trying to grab him, but Ciel heading through the door. Two women, a man and two children. One woman wore a suit, and looked like a guide. The one speaking. The other woman and man held hands, wearing casual clothes. And the children were both boys. One was smaller than the other, and had brown curly hair, bright eyes and freckles. He looked about two or three years younger. As the guide stopped speaking and saw him, everybody else turned. And there was the other boy. With his blond hair. His piercing eyes. Handsome face. He was taller than Ciel. And he looked down to his phone, before locking it and putting it away, watching Ciel in silence along with anybody else. Sebastian walked in behind him, his own eyes widening.

"Al...Alois? Alois Trancy?" Ciel asked. The other boy's reaction would completely determine if he was right. But Ciel already knew he was. The blond boy looked to the others around him, before back to Ciel. He frowned and shook his head.

"What? No. I'm Jim. Jim Macken."


	2. That Butler, Explaining

"What? No. I'm Jim. Jim Macken." The blond boy answered, confused by Ciel's question. Ciel's mouth was slightly ajar, his eyes ready to explode out of his skull. He had been resurrected. And he didn't even remember Ciel. Sebastian laid a hand on Ciel's shoulder, snapping him out of it. The brown-haired boy was holding Alois' hand, and Alois' parents watched Ciel and Sebastian with unsure faces. The mother was blond, the father had brown hair. Their children looked like their doubles. The boy. That was Alois' brother. Ciel had researched Jim Macken after his death, and knew now. He knew more. And Luka died quite young, but here he was. He had been resurrected too. The father suddenly started laughing, shaking his head.

"Alois? As in the Earl? It's funny you should say that. The reason we came here was because Jim here looks so much like the deceased Earl. It's strange. Isn't that right, Jim?" His father asked with a chuckle, ruffling Alois' hair. They really knew nothing. It was incredibly. Sebastian looked just as dumbfounded as Ciel, unable to process what exactly was happening. Alois scowled as his father ruffled his hair, embarrassed.

"Yes, dad..." He mumbled, before looking back over to the boy. Alois narrowed his eyes a moment, thinking. There was something strange about this stranger. And he wanted a moment alone. "Oh, I know you! You're from my school. It's alright mom, dad. Keep going with the tour, I'll catch up. You too, Luka." Alois laughed, ushering them off. He clearly had no idea who Ciel was, and was lying through his teeth, but it didn't matter. Ciel wanted him alone anyways. The parents slowly headed off, Luka looking over to Ciel with bright eyes. Luka thought he looked so cool in his clothes, like royalty! Alois watched them head through to another part of the manor, before turning back to Ciel and Sebastian. There was silence for a few seconds, before Alois took slow steps towards them. "What's your name?~" Alois chirped, in a cheery voice.

"I'm Ciel. Earl Ciel Phantomhive." Ciel stated coldly, watching the boy. Alois' eyes lit up as he walked around Ciel to Sebastian.

"Woah, an Earl? Does that mean this is your butler? He's so tall! And... scary." Alois mumbled, looking at Sebastian cold glare. Sebastian smirked as Alois added the last part, Ciel sighing.

"Yes, that's my butler. Sebastian." Ciel said simply, before looking up to Sebastian. This was a waste of time. Alois was alive, but not really. Alois was dead, by all means. All that was left now was Jim Macken. "Alright, Sebastian. Let's go." He told him, Sebastian bowing and turning with Ciel. They both began to walk away, broken glass cracking and splintering beneath their feet as they walked. Alois stood in silence, biting his lip. No... This wasn't right. He felt sick. So ill. All of a sudden he began to feel so faint, like he was going to pass out.

"Wa-Wait... Why are you s-so... familiar?" Alois asked, his voice cracking a little. Tears were welling up in his eyes and he didn't know why. What was this feeling? Like... Despair. Extreme deja vu. He knew this boy. Ciel looked over his shoulder, his eye widening a little.

"What did you just sa-..." Ciel cut himself off. Alois' eyes had rolled back into his head, and tears were streaming down his cheeks. And blood ran from his nose and trickled down over his lips. His legs shook, before he began to crumble to the floor. Ciel suddenly felt everything go to slow motion as he leapt forward, grabbing and sweeping up Alois before he managed to fall. "Alois!" Ciel exclaimed, looking at his face. He'd only helped him because he needed to find out more. That was the excuse Ciel was telling himself. But Sebastian watched him with narrowed eyes, and a small smile. That wasn't true, was it? That wasn't true at all. Ciel was lonely, and he didn't want to lose the only thing left from his past.  Alois' eyes continued to remain rolled back. What was happening to him?

* * *

Alois' eyes slowly batted open, his vision blurry. He was laying on something comfortable. A huge bed, and he was spread out above the covers. Alois was on his side, facing a door as he woke. And there was a tall figure stood beside the door. He looked familiar. "H-Hey... You're that Sebastian man, aren't you?" Alois asked, yawning cutely and stretching out as he sat up. Sebastian looked towards the boy and nodded slowly.

"Yes, master Macken. You're in the Phantomhive manor. You seemed to have a seizure of sorts, so we brought you back here where I could give you medical attention. Your parents and brother are downstairs, speaking with my lord. How do you feel?" Sebastian asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Mmm... Dizzy. And nauseous. But I'll be fine." Alois told him, holding his head and rubbing his eyes. He looked to the tall man with a curious look. "I know you, don't I?" Alois asked, under his breath. "I-I'm not sure how I know you, but I know Ciel too. And... And I want to apologise. I don't know what for, but I really feel like I should apologise. Please forgive me, Mr. Sebastian." Alois asked of him, getting onto his knees on the bed. Sebastian smirked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh? You wish to apologise?" Sebastian began, the room suddenly getting darker and darker. It was almost like the end of his tailcoat was... wavering? Like smoke... Alois backed up on the bed a little, nervous. "You wish to apologise for the pain you put my young master through? Trying to kidnap him? Using others for your dirty work? Acting like a brat? Oh no, master Macken. Words are not sufficent to apologise for your actions." Sebastian growled, his eyes narrowing and becoming their unsightly demonic form, narrow and the pupil like a cat's. The room was pitch black, and Alois couldn't even see the bed beneath him. Only those eyes. And those hands.

"I-I... I'm sorry, Sebastian... Please don't hurt me..." Alois whimpered, trying to scramble back, but never seeming to move. There was just a chuckle, and then a familar face. An old man's familiar face. And Alois was naked. His bare body only slightly covered by a robe that had been torn off him. The man's disgusting hands running up his legs. But Alois couldn't move. He just laid there, his eyes cold and empty. His mouth slightly ajar as the man moved Alois' body and adjusted him to how he preferred. And did anything and everything he could. Alois didn't know how he knew, but he knew this was a memory. That it'd already happened. But it was happening again. He felt the old man spin him onto his stomach. Felt him clamber on. Alois was trying to scream, and writhe away. But his face was cold and empty as he laid there. Just, letting it happen.

Alois' scream was shrill. His hands were in his hair, grasping it with tight hands, the knuckles white. Alois woke up, drenched in sweat and screaming loudly. Sebastian smirked as he watched the boy sit up and scream, but quickly wiped it away as he heard footsteps approaching. When Ciel and Alois' family burst in, Sebastian was holding Alois and trying to calm him. Alois' screams stopped, but only because he ran out of breath. He panted heavily, his breath shaky and unsteady as he collapsed onto his back on the bed. His forehead glistened with sweat, and the shirt he was wearing was damp. Alois knew that was real. That wasn't fake. That happened. But it happened over a century ago. And Sebastian had triggered it. What was this? These memeories that lurked beneath the surface? There were more, so many more. And he wanted to know the truth, why he felt like this. Alois wanted to know so badly.

He just wanted to know why he was in love with Ciel.


	3. That Butler, Guiding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to try and attempt to release two chapters at a time! I'm not sure how consistent they'll be, but as soon as two are done, they will be uploaded!  
> If you could recommend this to others if you enjoy, I would greatly appreciate it.

Alois passed off the entire situation as a night terror, but he was aware that there was something more to it than that. Ciel knew that too. And he was annoyed with Sebastian. Of course, he did like imagining the other in terror, but at the same time, it was a little blatant. Sebastian could've waited until they were alone in the manor to do it. Alois was checked out by Sebastian, and he was apparently fine. But, Ciel wanted an explanation for why he was behaving so strangely. Ciel tugged Sebastian aside, outside of the room. "Why did he have that seizure earlier?" Ciel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm working mostly off guesses, young master. But there's one thing I know for certain; It's the same soul that the previous Alois had." Sebastian told him, with a grim face. Ciel frowned, confused.

"Then what happened to Hannah? Did she die?" Ciel asked, thinking.

"Possibly. But that wouldn't mean Alois' soul would be free. Once a demon consumes a soul, it vanishes. It's gone out of existence, and won't return. Well, unless... But that's highly unlikely..." Sebastian muttered, looking away a little. Ciel raised an eyebrow, poking the much taller man in the chest.

"Out with it, Sebastian." Ciel demanded, scowling.

"Unless God got involved." Sebastian finished, his face darkening a little. "As the Creator, he can also bring things back from nothing. Which means he could theoretically return Luka and Alois' souls, along with their original parents, to identical bodies. However..." He said, sighing. Sebastian rubbed his temples, as he thought a moment.

"Stop pausing and just bloody tell me!" Ciel ordered, gritting his teeth.

"Why couldn't we sense him until now? It would make sense if we couldn't sense Luka, we had never met him previously. But Alois should give off a distinct presence, from the moment of his birth.  Which means that-" Sebastian was interrupted.

"Which means that somebody must have been hiding his presence." Ciel finished, before sharing a glance with Sebastian. It was worry. He knew what this implied. "Then who was hiding it?" He asked, despite knowing the answer.

"Him." Sebastian said, a finger pointing up. Ciel frowned uneasily.

"What business does He have involving himself with our matters? Why would the almighty God even care?" Ciel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Creating a demon is a very bad thing, young Master. He is not a fan of when a demon makes another demon. Usually the outcome is God sending an angel to dispose of the newly formed demon before it has enough time to grow powerful enough." Sebastian explained, before looking towards the door. Ciel's eye widened a little, as it suddenly made sense.

"And that would mean that Alois Trancy is now...?" Ciel prompted, concerned.

"An angel, yes. But the fact that he isn't aware of it is strange. It's odd that he only remembers fragments of his past too." Sebastian continued, Ciel pondering on that for a few seconds.

"Do you think God could've messed something up then?" Ciel suggested, Sebastian shaking his head.

"No. He doesn't mess things up. It's more likely that He specifically designed Alois like this, for entertainment. I'm assuming he was bored, and decided to it now." Sebastian explained, Ciel simply blinking at the unsatisfactory explanation. The butler drew some silverware from his tailcoat, approaching the door. Ciel's eye widened and he was suddenly in front of the door, his arms stretched out.

"What in the bloody hell do you think you're doing?!" Ciel hissed, under his breath so the family inside wouldn't hear. Sebastian frowned and stared at his master coldly.

"Young master, Alois is an angel. Designed for the soul purpose of killing you. By allowing him to continue living, I will be endangering your life. He must die, before he figures out what his purpose is, and his abilities." Sebastian explained, his tone calm and quiet. Ciel's brow furrowed as he shook his head adamantly.

"No, Sebastian! This is an order! You must protect Alois' life, no matter what!" Ciel blurted out, still whispering. He didn't even realise what he'd said, until it was blurted out. Sebastian smirked a little and tucked the silverware into his tailcoat again, before bowing.

"Yes, young master. You seem to be quite fond of him." Sebastian chuckled, Ciel quickly shaking his head again.

"Don't be bloody stupid! I just- I want to..." Ciel began, trying to find a good excuse. "We need to figure out how this all works! As soon as that's done, I shall reverse the order and you can kill him." Ciel finally said, lying through his teeth once again. Sebastian smiled, just nodding. Ciel slowly stood up from guarding the door, dusting himself down. He swung open the door once more, looking at the family who were talking to Alois and making sure he was alright.

"Hey! Jim! How many fingers am I holding up?" Luka said loudly, holding three fingers right in Alois' face, trying to help as best he could. But he went silent when he saw the door open again, all heads turning to the door and to Ciel, expectantly.

"I apologise for my abscense." Ciel explained, before heading into the room and opening the curtains. It was getting rather dark. "It's almost 10. I'm sure it wouldn't be pleasant to drive home at this time of night, so you may stay in the guest rooms of my manor, if you wish. When you wake up tomorrow, I shall have you served breakfast, and you can be on your way. How does that sound?" Ciel offered, turning back to them all. Luka's eyes lit up brightly.

"We get to stay in this castle?!" Luka exclaimed, a huge smile on his face. "Oh mum, dad, can we?! Please, please, please, please, pllllleeeeeease?!" Luka begged, looking at them both hopefully.

"Well... We don't have a change of clothes. But it's true that the house is a good two hour drive away..." Alois' mother responded, frowning a little.

"Not to worry. Sebastian." Ciel ordered, clicking his fingers. Sebastian bowed and rushed out of the room. It only took a few seconds before he returned, a pile of clothes on his arm. 4 sets of pyjamas, which would fit each family member perfectly. The mother and father shared a surprised look as they were eached handed the clothes. "I hope these are to your liking." Ciel added, the father nodding quickly.

"I- Yes, of course. Thank you, Earl Phantomhive." The father said, a little bewildered.

"No, Ciel will do just fine." Ciel told them, before turning on his heels. "Sebastian, lead them to their rooms. I will be downstairs if anybody wishes to speak with me." He added, before leaving the room and heading along the hallway. Sebastian looked to Alois first.

"Master Jim, will you be alright with this room? Or would you wish to share one with your sibling?" Sebastian offered, Alois shaking his head slowly.

"No, thank you. I'm fine with this one." Alois responded quickly, terrified of the tall, mysterious man. Sebastian smiled brightly and nodded, before looking over to Luka.

"Well, master Luka? Would you like a big bedroom to stay in for the night?" Sebastian offered, in a gentle voice. Luka nodded quickly, jumping off the bed with his pyjamas in his hands. He stood by Sebastian. "Mr and Mrs Macken. If you follow me, I can lead you to your room as soon as I've shown Luka to his." Sebastian explained, as they stood up. Alois' mother kissed Alois' forehead and left, telling him not to be on his phone or watch TV all night. He sighed and nodded slowly, watching them all leave. Sebastian shut Alois' door when they were all leaving, winking to Alois before it shut. It creeped him out. Alois sighed quietly and just tried to relax a little, unsure what to do.

* * *

Alois had gotten changed into the pyjamas, finding them rather comfortable. He had turned on the rather large TV in the guest room, having it on in the background whilst he browsed his phone. It was just about 11 now, Alois not feeling tired whatsoever. After all, he had slept for about 5 or 6 hours already. Alois had gotten curious, being unable to help himself, so he'd decided to look up 'Ciel Phantomhive' on his phone after connecting to the internet. There was a wikipedia page on Ciel, but what he found freaked him out. Alive during Victoria's reign? The Queen's watchdog? Dead at 14, in 1890? This was weird. Way too weird. Unless Ciel looked exactly like one of his ancestors, and had the same name, this was odd. No, more than odd. The weirdest part was about how... connected Alois felt, whilst reading this. To the black and white photograph on the wiki page, to the details. What was wrong with him? Why did it seem so familiar? Alois was worried that this was going to trigger some sort of reaction from himself, but it didn't seem to. In fact, he didn't even seem to panic that much. Like he already knew this, deep down. But, it still did unsettle him. And he needed to confront Ciel about this. There were memories lingering beneath the surface, and he could feel them. That was the strange part. Alois could feel something on the tip of his tongue, something he almost knew, but didn't know how to know it. It was frustrating him, but he'd figure out what he needed to know. But Ciel was the key. Alois knew that Ciel was the key, and he wouldn't give up on this. This meant everything to him now. Alois slowly slipped out of the covers, his barefeet touching the cold, wooden floor. "A-Ah..." Alois gasped, before tiptoeing out of his room. He looked left and right, trying to memorise which door was his so he could come back himself. Alois had his phone in his hand, still on the wiki page, zoomed in on Ciel's death date. He snuck along the freezing hallway, shivering a little in his pyjama shorts and thin shirt. When he arrived at the stairs, he could hear quiet talking from the sitting room.

"That isn't true, Sebastian." Ciel's voice faintly said, Alois creeping down the stairs silently.

"I never said it was, young master. All I'm saying is, it's odd. Why did you choose to stand in my way earlier?" Sebastian's voice. Alois gently held onto the fancy banister, going down slowly and quietly.

"I already told you once, let's not have this conversation again." Ciel scowled.

"You lied to me, young master. You don't want to learn more about Alois' situation really. You're lonely, aren't you?" Sebastian suggested. Alois frowned, as they referred to him by that name. He could tell they were referring to him, but... But it didn't seem strange to him. It felt like the name suited him. There was silence for a few seconds, before a sigh could be heard.

"Even if I am, so what? Alois is dead. He died years ago. This boy upstairs isn't Alois. It's Jim." Ciel finally answered, sounding a little down. Alois felt a pain in his chest to hear the boy sound so down, and he bit his lip, almost at the bottom of the stairs and at the entrance to the manor.

"No, young master. We discussed this. Jim has Alois' memories. And he'll remember, you know he will. He simply needs to be prompted, that's all." Sebastian argued. Alois' eyes were a little wider now. This was so surreal. Was it true? Did he have the memories of a boy who died over a century ago? Well, Alois already really knew the answer to that. He approached the slightly open door, as he stepped off the last step. And Alois pushed it open, his phone in his hand.


	4. That Butler, Reminding

"No, young master. We discussed this. Jim has Alois' memories. And he'll remember, you know he will. He simply needs to be prompted, that's all." Sebastian argued. Ciel frowned, unsure how to respond. How was he supposed to? Sebastian was right, but Ciel was unsure. And he didn't know what to do. Alois was made to kill him, after all. And despite how much he wanted the other boy to stay alive, just so he could maybe have a friend for the first time ever (although he would never admit that), perhaps it would be better if Alois was dead. The past was the past. But at the same time, because of that, shouldn't Alois get a second chance? God, it was so confusing. Ciel didn't know what to do. Although, he was startled when the door shot open. And there stood Alois, with a confused look in his eyes. Ciel found his eyes wandering down to the boy's legs, and his face turned a little red as his eyes shot back up to meet the boy's.

"Jim?! Were you eavsdropping?" Ciel demanded to know, Alois shaking his head slowly. He headed into the room with his phone in his hand,

"No, I wasn't. But, Ciel, I-..." Alois lied, before sighing. "I need to know something." He said, holding his phone out. Alois approached to hand it to Ciel, but paused as something caught his eye. His head turned a little, to look over the fireplace. A pair of swords, crossed over one another and hanging there. "Are those..." Alois began, dropping his phone. His gaze was transfixed, as he walked over to the fireplace and stared at the swords. Ciel and Sebastian shared a glance, before watching Alois expectantly. He slowly picked up Alois' phone, looking at what was on the screen. His lips slowly curled into a frown, as he looked at the death date. Of course. Alois reached up and took a sword, holding it. Sebastian stood up quickly, but Ciel looked to him and shook his head. Ciel knew Alois didn't even understand what he was doing. That much was clear from his wide eyes. Alois held it with a tight grip, staring at the blade. As if out of nowhere, a bunch of images flooded Alois' mind, and the sword clattered to the floor as his grip released. A memory. Ciel was there. He was there. They were talking, and Alois couldn't do anything but watch again. They started fighting. Why? Alois couldn't do anything but let his body keep moving, as he headed up the stairs, blades clashing. And then, before he knew it, there was a sword wound in his side. And he was crying and coughing blood at Ciel's feet, able to feel the life draining out of him as he begged the other to show mercy. Alois fell back into a heap from his standing position, clawing at his side and coughing and spluttering as his eyes shot open. What was that?! Ciel and Sebastian rushed over, before they realised what part of his body he was holding. Ciel realised what memory Alois had just remembered.

"Jim, you're alright. You haven't been stabbed. Look." Ciel told him, before leaning down and pressing into his side. Alois still had quick, gasping breaths, but he slowly began to calm down, his coughing stopping a little. He still spluttered quietly, but he was soon back to normal, his breathing remaining slightly unsteady. Sebastian helped him onto a chair, before standing beside Ciel's as he sat back down. Ciel tossed Alois' phone towards him, it landing in his lap. "I'm assuming you wanted to talk to me about that date, correct? Why I've apparently been dead for 128 years?" Ciel asked, raising an eyebrow. Alois shifted uncomfortably, nodding slowly. Ciel looked to Sebastian, before sighing. "I'm a demon. Thanks to you." Ciel said, knocking Alois into a stunned silence. Along with Sebastian, who just stared at him incredulously.

"You're a- Because of me?!" Alois exclaimed, confused. That was familiar though. Those words, they sounded like something he had done. But- HOW?! Ciel looked to Sebastian.

"Make him remember." Ciel demanded. Sebastian thought a moment. He then realised what would bring probably most of Alois' memories come flooding back.

"Claude Faustus. Remember him. Remember his death." Sebastian said coldly, before Alois thought about the name. His eyes widened, and he moved his hands to his mouth. Alois covered his mouth a moment. So many things were rushing into his mind, like a floodgate had been opened. Luka. The man who kidnapped him. When he made the deal. Claude. How he loved Claude. And then Claude killed him... But he didn't. He kept his soul. And Alois shared his body with Ciel's... And... And then Hannah. He made a deal with Hannah. And Claude died. And... And... Alois' eyes were welling up with tears, as he sunk back into his chair. He just let the memories flood back. The life he had before. How he wanted Ciel for himself. Everything. There was silence for a few minutes, as tears ran down Alois' face. But they eventually stopped as he took his hand away from his mouth. Alois didn't say anything. But then, a smirk. Alois wiped his eyes. He stretched out. Alois jumped to his feet, before walking over to Ciel and leaning over.

"My, my... It's so good to be back, Ciel...~" Alois purred, with a wink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the incredibly short chapter! I didn't want to push this one any further than what is written here, because it felt like a perfect stopping point.   
> I'll write more soon! Please, tell your friends to read if you enjoyed, and go ahead and leave a comment about what you liked/disliked and so on!


	5. That Butler, Annoyed

Ciel's eye widened with shock as Alois spoke, and almost instantly, regret had begun to set in. Alois didn't move from leaning over him, his hands placed on the armrests of Ciel's chair. He was practically pinning the boy down, and Ciel had no idea what to do. This was him, wasn't it? Alois. Ciel opened his mouth to speak, finally managing to croak something out. "J-Jim?" Ciel asked, wanting to confirm. Alois' face contorted a little and he laughed, standing up.

"Jim? Don't call me by that name." Alois scoffed before looking down at his clothes. "I look like a bloody commoner!" He exclaimed, annoyed. He huffed, resting a hand on his hip, before he saw the tall demon's face. It was like thunder. Alois raised an eyebrow, clearly unphased. "Oh, what's up with you, demon?" He taunted, walking over and standing before him, not intimidated. Sebastian had a frown on his face, and his eyes were that of a demon's.

"Alois Trancy. So you remember everything now?" Sebastian asked, raising an eyebrow. Alois smiled smugly in his face, which seemed to anger the demon more.

"That's right!~" Alois chirped, before sighing. "Although, this is a conundrum..." He began, tapping his chin. "I can't continue to live like a commoner, especially not now. I deserve the finer things in life, and going back to live in a working-class environment will be dreadful." Alois explained, before looking over to Ciel from the corner of his eye with a small smirk. "That's why _you're_ going to offer my mother and father a place here. Where they can continue to live off your wealth, and won't have to work ever again!" He laughed, turning back towards Ciel.

"I will do no such thing!" Ciel exclaimed, furious. Suddenly, Alois was pinning him against the chair again, and Ciel was overpowered with that sickly-sweet scent Alois always seemed to carry.

" _Really_ _?_ You won't? Not even for me, Ciel?~" Alois purred, very close to Ciel's face. He knew he was flustering the other boy, and Ciel's face had turned a light shade of pink as he opened his mouth to try and spit out words again. Ciel was annoyed, but he couldn't get a hold of himself with that smile in his face. Those eyes. Perhaps it was because it had been so long, but Ciel just felt powerless to resist. That was, until, Alois was suddenly hoisted into the air with a squeak.

"You will leave as planned, with your family after breakfast tomorrow morning. And you are _never_ to return. Do you understand that, master Trancy?" Sebastian asked, holding Alois by the collar of his shirt. Sebastian's eyes were locked with Alois' and he wasn't even smirking. But Alois was, and it was clearly firing Sebastian up.

"Blah, blah, blah! You just keep droning on, demon. I'm not scared of you. I've already died twice!" Alois laughed in his face, Sebastian's eyes widening. Ciel watched in disbelief as Alois argued with a demon fearlessly, unable to take his eyes off the scene or speak. But Sebastian was still obeying Ciel's order not to hurt Alois. However, his tailcoat had that same effect again... Like smoke wavering in the air, or the air above a fire. And Sebastian looked ready to kill Alois.

"This is an order, Sebastian! Put him down this instant!" Ciel shouted, finally able to get the words out. Sebastian didn't flinch, still holding Alois by the collar of his shirt and glaring at him. There was an intense few seconds, where Alois continued to smirk smugly, before Sebastian sighed.

"Yes, young master." Sebastian finally said, dropping Alois roughly.

"Prick." Alois mumbled.

"Nuisance." Sebastian responded.

"Tosser." Alois retorted, a little louder.

"Brat." Sebastian argued. Ciel watched again in disbelief, before shaking his head and interrupting the next insult.

"Enough, the both of you! Are you bloody children?!" Ciel exclaimed, raising an eyebrow.

"My apologies, young master." Sebastian said, bowing. Alois scoffed and looked away, still sat on the floor.

"This is a confusing ordeal. Trancy." Ciel said, getting his attention. "You are to remain Jim Macken with your family." He told Alois, before Alois opened his mouth to protest.

"But-"

"No but! You will continue to be Luka's brother, and your mother and father's son. Is that understood?" Ciel asked, Alois nodding reluctantly. "However. When you are in the presence of Sebastian and I, you will be yourself." He added, Alois' eyes lighting up and Sebastian's face dropping.

"When? Does that mean-?!" Alois began, excited.

"I haven't decided yet. Go back to bed, Trancy. And I may suggest the idea to your parents in the morning." Ciel answered, Alois jumping up. He had a large smirk on his face, and bright eyes. Alois leapt towards Ciel.

"Thank you, Cie-!"

"Keep your hands to yourself, you twat!" Ciel exclaimed, a foot on the boy's chest to hold him back again. In reality, Ciel just didn't want the other to make contact for fear of being flustered once more. "Go to bed." Ciel told him, pushing him back and putting his foot down.

"Fine. Good night, Ciel!~" Alois purred, skipping out of the room happily. His footsteps echoed through the manor as he ran back up the stairs. Ciel sighed and placed a hand over his eyes, leaning on the chair. Sebastian watched him, his face still dropped.

"Young master, do you understand what you're doing?" Sebastian asked, frowning.

"Of course I do, Sebastian." Ciel mumbled quietly.

"You can't let your feelings of being alone dictate what you do, young master! Master Trancy is an angel, despite him seeming to be unaware of that. There will be a time that comes when his true self surfaces, and perhaps his feelings towards you will turn to nothing but murderous intent." Sebastian explained, frowning. Ciel looked up from his hand, gritting his teeth.

"You don't know that." Ciel argued, before silence fell over the room once more. "Besides," Ciel began, finally breaking the silence. "You're just mad because Alois put a blockade between you and your snack. And binded you to me for all of eternity." He smirked, looking over to Sebastian's displeased face.

"Whilst it's true that I may be resentful over that young master, that doesn't decide my feelings towards him. The fact of the matter is, he's an angel. How many times must I repeat myself?" Sebastian sighed, watching Ciel. Ciel didn't say anything else, simply thinking in silence until morning arrived.

* * *

Alois woke up rather refreshed the next morning. It was nice to wake up himself again. All those things that felt like they were missing were back. Of course, it was strange to have two lifetime's worth of different memories, but it didn't bother him that much. Both would be useful. But really, there was something much different this time around. In his previous life, Alois wanted to toy with Ciel. But his feelings towards him weren't necessarily this... strong. Before, Alois would've killed Ciel, without a doubt. Now, that thought made him shudder. Alois didn't want to kill Ciel. He wanted him for himself. Alois wanted Ciel to feel the same towards him. But it wasn't just that either. There was something else in him which felt... unnatural. It had felt normal all his life, but now he remembered his other life, this feeling wasn't there before. Like there was something in him, ready to burst out. Perhaps he was just ill, thanks to the memories? That was more likely, right? Alois didn't know for sure, but he knew this feeling seemed to have been here for the entirety of his current life. It freaked him out a little. Either way, Alois got changed into the disgusting casual clothes Sebastian had left for him and stretched out. The thought of Sebastian made him smirk. It really did amuse him how much he could anger a demon, just by smirking and laughing in his face. And if Alois was allowed to remain at the manor, he would certainly continue teasing the demon. Once Alois had gotten changed, he quickly headed downstairs, finding his family already awake and in the dining room. To tell the truth, Alois felt lucky to have been reborn. Especially since it meant he could have a family again. But, Alois didn't want them to have to live life day-to-day, barely getting by and having to work all the time. He wanted them to have what he had, all those years ago. Alois slowly took a seat with his family, who told him that Ciel and Sebastian were doing something and instructed them to wait there. Eventually, Ciel and Sebastian walked in, Sebastian carrying a bunch of plates. Sebastian set them down along the large table, with lots of different food items for the family to choose from. Luka's eyes lit up straight away, having never seen this much food in his life. The parents looked amazed too, but Alois remained unphased. Ciel took a seat at the chair on the end of the table, waiting. He didn't put any food on his plate for now and Sebastian stood beside him. Eventually, Ciel opened his mouth. "I've been considering something." He began, a small smile rising to Alois' face. "This manor is large. We have a lot of guest rooms, and a lot of space. For a while, it has just been my butler and I residing here. So, I would like to offer an invitation to your family. I would offer that you quit your jobs, and move here. As an Earl I have a very large amount of wealth, and part of it can be shared with your family so you may be able to provide things such as clothes or luxury items for yourself. As well as that, all your items from your house can be moved here within a day, as soon as you say." Ciel offered, Mr and Mrs Macken's faces looking bewildered. It was a dream offer.

"Earl-... I mean, Ciel, are you sure that would be alright? We wouldn't want to intrude..." The father said, shocked.

"No, it's quite alright. I will be hiring more servants soon too, so the manor will be able to sustain a family living here." Ciel explained, before the mother frowned a little.

"What about school? I mean, I'd love to live here and all, but I don't want to pull my children out of school. Luka goes up to Secondary School soon, and I want their education to continue." Mrs Macken told Ciel, the father nodding his head in agreeance.

"Well, that's fine. I'm sure one of the new servants will be able to drive Luka and Jim to their schools." Ciel explained, before the mother and father shared a look. Luka was practically bouncing in his seat at the thought of living here, and Alois was smirking.

"In that case-" Mr Macken begun, Mrs Macken finishing it for him.

"We would be beyond appreciative if you let us stay here!"


	6. That Butler, Promising

Everything had gone just as Alois hoped it would. Within a week, the Macken family was moved into the manor and settled. The children had missed a week of school during the change, but it didn't matter too much, as they could both catch up. Now, each family member had their own room which was personalised accordingly. They were no longer guest rooms, they were their rooms, and were designed how they wished. Alois refused to let anybody into his room, even any of the servants, to collect laundry or anything. He left everything outside his door. Luka's room had a bunch of different action figures, posters and all sorts of things. And Mr and Mrs Macken's room was rather plain, but they didn't mind. They claimed the rest of the manor was exciting enough. Alois' room was... unique. The wallpaper was pink, lined with roses. He had a bunch of different magazines, books and so on, along with DvDs, CDs, a game console and video games to go with it... But the room was spotless, everything being neatly organised. Alois was resting on his bed and reading one evening, with the TV playing to itself in the background when he heard a knock at the door. "Who is it?" Alois asked, not looking up from the rather promiscous magazine he was looking at. He tilted his head a little, surprised. How could a man have so many muscles?!

"It's Ciel. I would like a word, Trancy." Ciel's voice said through the door. That meant there was clearly nobody else around. Alois remained silent a moment, thinking. If it was only Ciel, he didn't really mind...

"Alright, Ciel. Come in." Alois told him, after quickly tossing the magazine into a drawer so it couldn't be found. He watched the door click open, before watching Ciel step in and close it with an astounded face.

"What kind of room is this?! It isn't fitting for a boy at all!" Ciel exclaimed, staring at the wallpaper. Alois smirked, giggling at his reaction.

"Relax a little. Come on, sit down and talk to me.~" Alois told him, patting the empty space on the bed next to him with a wink. Ciel looked to Alois and his jaw dropped. Alois was sat on his bed with his back straight against the wall, and his legs stretched out, one flat on the bed and the other bent. Although, it wasn't necessarily his pose which shocked Ciel. It was the revealing clothing. Alois was wearing _very_ short shorts, which had been cut to reveal even more of his legs. And the shirt was very tight, seeming to press against Alois' slender body and show the outline of it through the shirt.

"I-I... What are you-..." Ciel managed to spit out, his face turning a shade of pink as he looked away quickly. Alois realised why Ciel was so flustered and grinned maliciously.

"Oh, you like my shorts? My legs? Aren't they nice Ciel...?~" Alois purred, stretching them out and showing them off more. Ciel was bright pink, looking away and scowling.

"Stop it you heathen!" Ciel exclaimed, Alois bursting into laughter at his response, before crossing his legs and shifting over on the bed.

"Come on, Ciel. Come sit down and speak about what you wanted to speak about." Alois told him, Ciel hesitantly looking back. Once he realised that Alois had stopped he went and sat down slowly, looking over to the other boy. Ciel narrowed his eyes a moment, thinking.

"I want to know something from you, and I want an honest answer." Ciel said, his eye changing. It was a demon's eye, and the room seemed to get darker. Alois raised an eyebrow, smirking. Ciel moved a little closer, as everything seemed to fade away. He was clearly trying to intimidate Alois, but that wasn't what was happening. Alois was smiling widely.

"A-Ah... Ciel...~" Alois purred, as he felt himself drop onto his back, the bed fading from under him and everything else going dark, other than Ciel.

"Do you or do you not plan to harm me? The truth, Trancy." Ciel demanded, a claw touching the bottom of Alois' chin and holding it up.

"Ah... You're so hot like this...~" Alois laughed, everything seeming to come flooding back as Ciel backed away.

"St-Stop it you idiot!" Ciel exclaimed, flustered again. He scowled and looked to the laughing Alois for an answer.

"Alright, alright... No. I don't plan to harm you. I don't feel the same way as I did before about you, Ciel. Honestly. Harming you is the least thing I want to do." Alois promised him, crossing his chest with a finger and a bright smirk. Ciel stared at him, unsure. He eventually sighed and stood up, nodding slowly.

"I'll trust you. Probably to my own demise, but I will. Don't let me down, Trancy." Ciel told him, before looking around the room and sighing. He left without another word, Alois thinking on the bed. Ciel... trusted him? Ciel trusted him! Alois found himself smiling widely as he collapsed back onto the bed, sighing happily. He could do something good this time. He could get with Ciel.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, thank you for reading! Apologies for the short chapter, but I've been quite busy today. I think I'm gonna be able to stick to the two chapters a day schedule, so yeah, that's good! Again, if you enjoyed reading, feedback is greatly appreciated and sharing is too. Thanks!


	7. That Butler, Settling

It did take some time, yes, but eventually Ciel had adapted to this new change. Having the manor buzz with servants and the Macken family was a strange change. Actually, a lot had changed in the past few weeks. Ciel could no longer run things underground, and had to make a public appearance. So, Ciel appeared at Buckingham Palace, claiming he was the rightful heir to the Phantomhive manor and the wealth, which meant Ciel was back. He had passed off his appearance and name as a tribute to his ancestor, his mother naming him Ciel due to his eerily similar appearance. Queen Elizabeth II seemed to see through this, viewing Ciel with suspicion, but the Queen's Watchdog was reinstated. The London underground was still very much alive, and buzzing with excitement, especially now that the legendary Phantomhive had returned. The family's name carried so much weight, especially among criminals. And so, Ciel was back on top. For how long, who knew? Ciel would very likely had to stage his death a second time, and he doubted he could ever return after it, meaning he would likely have to remain under the radar forever. But for now, Ciel was running things smoothly. Or at least smoothly enough. The paperwork was odd, especially after having none for so long. But, everything seemed to be going perfectly. That was, until he heard rather rapid knocking at his study door one night. Ciel looked towards his watch. It was 11pm, and whoever it was should likely be asleep. Not even Sebastian was in the room, he was tending to the servants. Ciel frowned a little, expecting Alois to be on the other side of the door. He frowned, displeased as he stood up from his chair and approached the door. As Ciel opened it slowly, he didn't see the blond hair he was expecting. But rather, brown hair. And the boy was smaller. Luka. "What are you doing up at this time of night?" Ciel asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked down to the boy with a small frown. Luka looked up at him with bright sparkly eyes.

"I wanted to speak to you, Ciel!" Luka said, whispering in an excited tone.

"You don't have to whisper. The manor is large enough that anybody sleeping won't wake up from you talking." Ciel tried to explain, but Luka didn't seem to listen.

"Can I come in Ciel? I wanna tell you a secret!" Luka told him, smiling widely. Ciel raised an eyebrow, before sighing.

"Fine. Come in." Ciel told the boy, opening it wider and closing it behind Luka. "What do you want to tell me abou-..." Ciel said, cutting himself off as he saw Luka jump straight into his chair. "Hey! That's my chair!" Ciel exclaimed, annoyed. Luka began to twirl on it, spinning himself round. Ciel marched over, grabbing it and stopping him. Luka just looked up at Ciel and stared at him with confused eyes for a moment, before shrugging.

"Jim told me something today! He said, when we were coming back from school, that he had a surprise for you! But he told me never to tell anybody ever! But it's okay, because I know you won't tell anybody, so it's like I haven't told anybody!" Luka chirped, smiling widely. Ciel's eye widened a little, before his face dropped to a frown. Of course. That bastard was planning on killing him, wasn't he? Ciel gritted his teeth, his brow furrowing. Gah, why was he such an idiot?! To think that Alois would do anything but try to harm him was stupid! Ciel was such a fool. Sebastian was right, he'd let his emotions get in the way. Just because Ciel was lonely didn't mean he should trust people. Especially not Alois. This was what being a pathetic hopeful had brought him. Ciel's grasp tightened a little on the chair, sighing. "Ciel?" Luka asked, confused by the boy's reaction.

"No, it's... it's nothing. Thank you for telling me Luka, but you should really get going to bed." Ciel ushered him out quickly, shutting the door behind him and leaning against it. Fuck. Fuck, why was he such an idiot?! Ciel had gotten his hopes up too. 128 bloody years of only that demon and he was getting sick of it. But that didn't mean that Alois of all people would end up bringing something positive to Ciel's life. What the fuck was he thinking?! Ciel ripped his black eyepatch off his face, tossing it to the floor. "F-Fuck!" Ciel shouted, furious. He slammed his hands against his desk. "Ugh!" Ciel groaned, clenching his fists. He was going soft. Being an idiot for no reason. As if Alois would tell him the truth. He couldn't trust anybody. Nobody except Sebastian. That was all he needed. That demon. He'd kill Alois. Yeah, he'd kill him, and put this entire shitty ordeal behind him before anything bad happened. Ciel pulled open a drawer quickly, the sound of metal hitting wood as it slid out. The 1911. Ciel pulled it out, turning the safety off and shutting the drawer. He headed over to the door, swinging it open and not bothering to shut it as he left. Ciel continued through the hallway until he reached Alois' door. He swung it open quickly, holding his pistol directly aimed towards the bed. Alois was staring directly down the barrel of the gun, his eyes widening a little. Ciel shut the door behind him without taking his eyes off the blond boy. "You bastard." Ciel scowled, annoyed. Alois raised an eyebrow, clearly confused.

"What do you-..."

"Don't give me any bullshit, Trancy!" Ciel snarled, before grabbing the other by the collar and pressing the barrel to his forehead, pushing him down onto the bed. He didn't even need the gun, but that didn't matter, it was an intimidation tactic. And it was clearly working. Alois' eyes were wide, ready to burst out of his skull. And his mouth was open, Alois clearly trying to choke out words. "Luka told me about your 'surprise'. Don't tell anybody? What kind of fool do you take me for?!" Ciel exclaimed, as he took more of Alois' shirt into his hand, holding it tightly. Alois' face suddenly turned to realisation, sighing quietly.

"That twat..." Alois groaned, before pointing with his left hand to his drawers. "Second drawer down, Ciel. There's a card. Take it out and read it." He told him, staring up at Ciel with unphased eyes. Ciel watched him with a narrowed eye, still on edge. He kept the gun trained on Alois but moved around the side of the bed and pulled open the second drawer down. Sure enough, there was a white card. Ciel opened it with one hand, placing his thumb in the middle so he could read the contents, keeping his gun trained on Alois.

"Dear Ciel, I would like to... sincerely apologise...?" Ciel read aloud, looking to Alois with a narrowed eye. The gun hand lowered a little, but he kept holding it tightly as he looked back to the paper. "Despite my actions in my past life, I no longer wish to act in such a manner. My actions were inexcusable, and I understand that. I'm not promising to have a change of personality, but I will put my pride aside for a moment to apologise. And to prove that I do seriously apologise, I'll include two things I remember distinctly about you. The first thing is, is that your favourite tea is Earl Grey. And because of that, I've made you some." Ciel read aloud, before looking around, before back to Alois.

"Ah... Well, if you didn't barge into my room with a bloody gun, perhaps I would've had a chance to prepare some." Alois answered, frowning. Ciel sighed and continued reading, his gun now down by his side, clicking the safety back on.

"The second thing is that you have a huge sweet tooth. And because of that, I spent the last few days working on the perfect chocolate cake! I know you'll love it, and I've been keeping it stored in your huge fridge for a little while." Ciel said, his eye widening a little. A... chocolate cake? Maybe Alois wasn't that bad after all. Of course, Ciel didn't have to eat anything anymore, but sweet things still tasted delicious to him.

"If you come downstairs with me, I'll show you where it is. I spent the last few days working on the recipe and I baked it yesterday, whilst you were out! You know, because I'm a natural at everything.~" Alois bragged, giggling. Ciel raised an eyebrow, before sighing.

"How do I know it isn't poisoned or something?" Ciel asked, suspiciously as he put the card down, walking around towards the door.

"Ciel, don't take me for a bloody idiot. For one, you're a demon, poisoning would be pointless. Secondly, where do you expect me to get poison from? Without Claude, I'm dead in the water Ciel." Alois told him, frowning. "Can I sit up now? Or are you going to shoot me?" He added, looking over to Ciel. Ciel just looked away, pouting.

"Just show me where this bloody cake is." Ciel demanded, Alois smirking smugly a little.

* * *

Alois pulled the large cake on its platter out of the fridge, smiling to himself. He carried it into the dining room, setting it down on the table in front of Ciel. Ciel's eyes widened as he looked at the cake, Alois smiling proudly. "See! It looks great, doesn't it?" Alois laughed, giving Ciel a plate and cutting a piece off.

"Looks aren't everything, Trancy..." Ciel mumbled, clearly excited to try the cake. Alois smirked.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure you tell yourself that daily." Alois snickered, Ciel narrowing his eyes a little. "Here. Only a little, since it's late now." He told Ciel, laying the plate down in front of him. Ciel scowled.

"I'll eat as much as I want, thank you. That is, if this is even edible..." Ciel grumbled, taking the fork and severing off a smaller piece from the piece of cake. He stabbed it onto his fork, before slowly putting it into his mouth. Ciel's eyes widened and he began to eat a little faster, not saying anything to Alois. It was so sweet! So soft, and had such a nice texture. And the way the chocolate just melted on his tongue- Ciel was in love with this cake. The piece was gone off his plate within the next 20 seconds, Alois watching with a smug smile.

"How was it?" Alois asked, able to tell by Ciel's face that he enjoyed it. Ciel narrowed his eyes, looking over to the other boy.

"Hmph." Ciel simply said, before grabbing the knife and beginning to cut himself a larger piece. Alois sighed happily, smirking to himself as he watched the other eat. He leaned on his arm as he watched Ciel eat, watching him stuff his face with the cake. Alois didn't mind. In fact, it made him happy, that something he made was good. Alois didn't enjoy working, but this was an exception. It was for an apology. It was for Ciel. Alois yawned and stretched out, before thinking a moment.

"Alright, Ciel. I'm going to bed now. Maybe you don't, but I have school tomorrow morning." He said, in a sweet voice. "Good night!~" Alois chirped, before beginning to leave. Ciel swallowed the mouthful, before looking over to Alois as he walked away.

"..Trancy." Ciel called after him, frowning. Alois looked over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow. "I accept your apology. I'm willing to trust you. Don't mess this up." He muttered, annoyed. Ciel was going soft. He really was lonely, if he was willing to forgive Alois over a cake and a note. But... He had wanted to forgive Alois since he met the reborn him at that manor.

"I won't, Ciel. Enjoy the cake!~" Alois chimed, before practically skipping away. Ciel noticed that Alois was different. He was still him, but he didn't seem to be as... brattish. Perhaps living as Jim for a while affected that. Either way though, Ciel expected to be tormented and teased by Alois mercilessly throughout the next few weeks. And the thought kind of excited him.


	8. That Butler, Displeased

Ciel was working again, and he was working as proficently as ever. Since the Watchdog had been reborn, it had already established its presence very clearly. Ciel had toppled a drug-lord, operating in the West of London. The man had simply vanished, but everybody knew who did it. Especially thanks to the reports of the boy with an eyepatch by the few Ciel had left alive purposely made sure everybody knew it was Phantomhive. Although, this new case seemed to be unique. It didn't have any major involvement from any known figures in the Underworld, so it was strange. But this case was calling out Ciel, that much was obvious. Ciel arrived at the crime-scene, a hotel in the upper-London area. On the fourth floor, multiple murders had occured, and the bodies were all dragged into one room and positioned to spell out the initals 'C.P.' It didn't take a genius to figure out what that meant. Ciel got off the elevator, looking around. Blood trails were all leading towards one door, which was wide open. There was an officer beside Ciel, speaking about the case. "Abberli-..." Ciel began, before cutting himself off as he looked to the investigator. "I apologise for that, I mistook you for somebody else. Officer, what do we have in terms of forensic evidence?"

"Not much, honestly. We found a few hairs scattered around which don't seem to belong to any of the victims, but after testing one, we can't find a match in our database. We aren't hopeful for any others. And fingerprints are a no-go, there are absolutley none on the scene. As far as witness reports go, the only report we have was the one of the neighbour who heard a scream, and after checking it out, there was nothing. A few hours later, there was blood all over the hallway and that door was wide open, with bodies piled up. It seems like she was the only resident along this hallway who actually was spared. We're not sure why, but we're investigating any links we can find." The officer explained, Ciel nodding slowly. "Are you... sure you want to go in there?" He asked, noticing how young the boy was. Ciel stopped walking, looking over to the officer.

"I will ask for your advice when I need it. Sebastian, let's go." Ciel told him, Sebastian bowing and following behind into the room. The furniture in the room was untouched, blood just pooling around the bodies and staining the floor. "What were the suspected causes of death?" Ciel asked, viewing the bodies. It was gruesome scene, really. The limbs had almost been severed, the flesh hanging torn and creased.

"Well, all of the bodies seem to have been badly mutilated, in one way or enough. An autopsy will determine whether this was done before or after the death, but going off the working theory now, we believe that death was caused by massive blood loss through external wounds. Such as these ones." The officer explained, bending down and trailing a gloved finger just above a torso wound on one of the bodies. It looked like a middle-aged man, who had a large wound in his lower torso, where his intestines spilled out of, Ciel frowning a little.

"What about a murder weapon? Has there been one found, or what do you believe it to be?" Ciel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We haven't located the actual weapon yet, but the weapon certainly wasn't any kind of knife. These wounds are much too large, and jagged. My guess? Some sort of electrical tool, such as a buzz saw, or a power saw." The officer suggested, pointing out the uneven look of the wounds. "Actually, there was a similar death reported around the same time as this one. The similarities are in the wound. The other body seems to have been killed by the same type of weapon, if not the exact same weapon. However, it was isolated, on a random back-alley. We took the body to the morgue, and it's awaiting an autopsy. If you wish, you could check it out whilst forensics are investiagting this room." The officer suggested. Ciel looked around. It was probably best to leave here, there didn't seem to be many clues. Perhaps he'd have better luck at the morgue.

"Lead the way."

* * *

They arrived at the morgue quickly, heading inside and to the room where the body was stored. After passing through a few security checks, they arrived in a stainless steel room, with the mutilated body laid flat upon the table. The wound went straight through the torso and out the back, so you could see the table through the wound. Cracked ribs, a torn lung and many other unsightly things were visible from the wound. But Ciel, was thinking. "A bunch of bodies moved in the shape of my initals in a hotel room, and another murder not too far from there with the same weapon, it seems? And no forensic evidence?" Ciel thought aloud, before tapping his chin. "There must be a clue on this body somewhere. If the murders are linked, then the last one was a clue towards me, with my initals. And this one must also have a clue that I would understand." Ciel added, before scanning the body with his eyes. The officer and Sebastian did the same. They all wore rubber gloves, as they poked around the wound, and checked for anything hidden. Ciel's hands moved up to the jaw, pulling on it. Some of the teeth were shattered due to the force the man exerted as he died on his jaw, but other than that, it seemed normal. Until... a glint at the back of the man's throat caught his eye. "Sebastian, hold the jaw." Ciel ordered.

"Yes, young master." Sebastian said, grabbing and tugging the jaw open a little wider. Ciel poked his fingers down to the back of the throat, grabbing whatever it was that was glinting. He tugged it out, looking at it. It was... An Opium pipe? Ciel frowned for a moment, before it him.

"Sebastian!" Ciel exclaimed, looking to the butler. Sebastian nodded slowly.

"Lau's den." Sebastian confirmed, before Ciel looked to the officer.

"Well, you've been a good help. I appreciate it. Now, Sebastian. Let's go." Ciel ordered, taking the gloves off and leading Sebastian out of the room and towards Lau's old opium den.

* * *

Who knew about Lau? Certainly nobody left alive today. That must mean that somebody really did their research into Ciel, if they knew about him. Either way, it very likely spelt danger for Ciel. They arrived at the den, which seemed to be in good condition. It obviously wasn't in operation anymore, but the exterior of the building seemed to be holding up quite well. It wasn't decaying, at the very least. When they headed inside, the same could be said. Cobwebs hung in the corners, but other than that, the building was quite clean and untouched. The door was oddly unlocked. Some of the furniture was a little worse-for-wear than it was 128 years ago, but that was to be expected. The den was dark, very dark. Sebastian held a torch, but that was about it. And thanks to how late in the day it was, there wasn't much natural light creeping in either. Eventually though, they came across Lau's usual seating area. Or rather, former usual seating area. But there were no bodies. In fact, there was nothing different at all. Was Ciel missing something? Did he misinterpret the clue? Ciel scratched his head, visibly confused as he thought. But Sebastian's face made him realise what was happening. The butler seemed to be in dismay, as Ciel looked to a shadow on the wall. Long hair, and a slender figure. Oh god, no.

"Did you miss me... _Bassy?_ ~" A familiar voice chimed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter wasn't the longest, so I apologise. I seem to fall short with the second chapter repeatedly. Anywho, I hope you enjoyed reading so far! If you did, any feedback in the comments would be greatly appreciated, as well as sharing and whatever else you can do to help me out! I'll take any kind of criticism, but if it's negative, try to word it in a more constructive way. I'll also gladly take suggestions on what to include/improve on in the future! Thanks for reading!~


	9. That Butler, Disgusted

Sebastian looked pale, or at least, paler than usual. That voice went through his skin, like nails on chalkboard. He sighed quietly, looking towards the figure that casted the shadow. "Shinigami." Sebastian frowned, shaking his head with a displeased face. Ciel looked towards Grell, narrowing his eye a little.

"Did you do this? Did you kill these people?" Ciel asked, standing beside Sebastian. He was concerned. Why had Grell shown up now, of all times? Surely he knew that Ciel was still alive for the past 128 years? Why now?

"I have no idea what you're talking about, runt." Grell waved him away, placing his death scythe on his shoulder and staring at Ciel with a small frown.

"Liar. Your weapon. An electrical cutting tool, of course!" Ciel pieced it together, frowning. "Why did you call us out, reaper?" He asked, Grell laughing.

"I didn't really care about calling you out. I wanted him...~" Grell chuckled, staring at Sebastian. Sebastian narrowed his eyes.

"Are you here to fight again?" Sebastian asked, placing an arm across Ciel's chest to hold him back a little.

"Well, whilst the thought excites me, I really don't have time for that. As you can still, I'm... Still a reaper. But I promise you we'll get to fight again. And it'll be _so_ romantic!~" Grell laughed, imagining the fight with a wide smile on her face. Ciel raised an eyebrow.

"Yet you have time to kill upwards of ten people, just to spell out my initals and draw us here?" Ciel confirmed, shaking his head. "Damn it you bastard, just tell us what you want!" He exclaimed, getting annoyed with the waiting. Ciel had wasted precious time on this, when there were many more things that required his attention. Many more important things.

"Actually, I was here to deliver a warning more than anything else, to my handsome Bassy!~" Grell explained, before heading a little closer. Sebastian didn't move his arm from Ciel's chest, as Grell approached. Grell looked at Sebastian and sighed. "Don't die. What you're doing is dangerous, with that angel. Will is gone. Ronald is gone. They were all redeemed. But I'm still here. And as of now, you're the only person I have left." Grell added, before smiling widely. "So don't die, Bassy! I want that fight so I can get ya myself!" Grell laughed, before beginning to walk off.

"Where in the bloody hell do you think you're going?! We need somebody to blame the murders on, I will not let a case go cold!" Ciel shouted, pushing Sebastian's arm away.

"I've already got it covered. Bye!~" Grell said, very vaugely. Ciel scowled, watching the reaper disappear as they left through the den's entrance. Ciel's phone began to ring. As he answered it, it became clear. It was the police. They explained that one of the hairs had a match with a known criminal, who had access to power tools and could do a thing like this. Ciel simply hung up, sighing. He looked around the den, with a small frown. For a moment, he was sure he saw Lau sat there, in the seat. The den still running, the room smelling of opium, with promiscuous women sat around, Lau with one in each arm. Ciel looked at it, feeling like he was still nothing more than the Watchdog for a moment. However, it faded. The apparitions clearing away, and the room going silent. Sebastian placed a hand on Ciel's shoulder.

"Young master. Let's go." Sebastian said, his voice quiet. Ciel nodded slowly, his eye lingering on that seat for a second, before turning and leaving the ghostly place.

* * *

The following day, Alois got out of the car slowly, groaning. God, he was aching like hell. Stupid school. Stupid sports. Stupid gym. Alois scowled at the driver who opened the door, barging past him. He stormed towards the house, in a foul mood. However, he felt small hands grab his wrist and he looked towards his brother. "What's wrong, Jim?" Luka asked, holding him. Alois' face contorted. Ugh, that name. He hated it. 

"Nothing. Let go." Alois ordered, staring at Luka. Luka shook his head quickly.

"No, Jim. Something's wrong with you." Luka said adamantly. Alois' face twisted again, rage boiling to his surface.

"Are you deaf?! I told you to let go!" Alois shouted, pressing a hand on the small boy's chest and shoving him hard. Luka went stumbling back, before landing on the floor with a yelp. Stones had scratched all along his palms, grazing and bloodying them. Alois gritted his teeth, before he saw the blood. Oh no. Alois rushed over, leaning down and grabbing Luka's arm. The driver watched them, going to help. "Luka! I'm-... I'm so sorry, Luka. I didn't mean to hurt you, I just-..."

"No! Get off me! Stay away!" Luka shouted, pressing his hands on his legs to try and make them feel nicer, but it wasn't working. His eyes were tearing up, as he shrugged Alois off. Alois watched him, his mouth ajar a little. The driver picked Luka up, giving Alois a disapproving glance as he helped the snivelling boy into the manor. Alois watched them walk away, before his face went cold. He clenched his fists a little, before letting his hands drop by his side as he stood up. Alois' breath was shaky as he kept his head down, walking into the manor. His parents were saying something to him as he walked in, the driver having explained what happened. Alois looked towards them, his face not changing. What? What were they saying? Alois didn't know, they were too quiet. He just kept walking, going up the stairs slowly as he could hear something in the background. His parents still. Alois headed upstairs, going along the hallway until he found the bathroom. He opened the door and headed in, locking it. Alois felt sick. He sat down on the edge of the bathtub, placing his hands in his hair. Everything was shaky, like he hadn't eaten in days. His hands were trembling. That feeling was there. That odd one, like there was something wrong with him. What was it? It was driving him insane. Alois' breath was unsteady still, the breaths being quick, almost like hyperventilation. Was he hyperventiliating? Alois couldn't tell, but he just sat there thinking. Why did he feel so strange? It wasn't just like there was something wrong now, there was something else. His thoughts were rushing by as his fingers pressed harder into his skull. What was wrong? Where was he? Oh, that was right, the Phantomhive manor. No, Ciel's manor. He knew Ciel. Alois was going to be sick. He lifted up the toilet seat, getting onto his knees in front of it and leaning across. Fuck. His head was killing. He was going to throw up. Everything was flashing by. Why had he hurt Luka? Wasn't Luka dead? No, no, that was before. This was now. But why did Luka not listen to him? Everybody should listen to him! He was Alois! But Luka thought he was Jim. And Alois was Jim for Luka, but he was Alois. Right? Alois was Alois. Alois wasn't Jim, he had been Alois before. Everything was spinning. Who... Who was he? Which one should he pick? He was Alois before, but... He had been Jim now. And he couldn't forget either life. He couldn't forget ANYTHING. Why?! Why was his head so full?! It was going to explode, going to burst. Fuck, fuck, fuck! Alois was a memory. Jim was who he was now. But Alois was a strong memory. Alois wanted to be Alois. But what about Luka? His mum? His dad? Alois couldn't breathe, his chest was too tight. What was happening? Why couldn't he catch his breath? He needed to breathe! Eventually, there were three knocks at the door. Bang, bang, bang. Alois held his breath, not making a noise as he was snapped back into reality.

"Alois? Are you in there? Your parents seem to be rather mad. You can't avoid a punishment for hurting your brother." Ciel's voice chimed through the door. Ciel. Yes, Ciel. Ciel's voice. It was Ciel. Ciel was good. Alois held his breath until it was right again, until that sickly feeling was gone. His head was alright now. It was okay. Ciel was there.  Alois had Ciel. He had him. His voice was so sweet, his face so cute. Alois found himself smiling again. It was okay. It was perfect now that he was there. Alois didn't have to worry about anything.

"I'm... I'm coming, Ciel. Just hold on a second, I felt sick, but it's alright now. It's perfect." Alois said, his voice quiet. Ciel didn't say anything else, but Alois knew he was there. Ciel had to be there. Alois was okay when he was with Ciel. His head didn't feel like it was too much to bear. He didn't feel sick. Alois could handle Jim and Alois at the same time. He'd be just fine, he could do it. Because he had Ciel.


	10. That Butler, Soothing

Alois had gone with Ciel, going back downstairs to face his parents. He explained that he felt ill and hadn't been himself all day. Alois apologised to Luka, and promised he'd make it up to him, but his parents accepted his answer about being ill. They weren't harsh, simply making Alois apologise before letting him go rest. Alois walked beside Ciel, who said he'd walk Alois to bed. That was sweet. Ciel was sweet. Alois looked over from the corner of his eye. "You've been out of the manor a lot recently. Have you been busy?" Alois asked him, raising an eyebrow. Ciel frowned.

"You've noticed?" He asked, as he walked slowly beside Alois.

"It's hard not to notice you...~" Alois laughed, making Ciel blush a little.

"Stop it with your nonsense." Ciel scowled, his face going pink as he frowned. "And yes, I've been busy. I've had to establish myself in the London underworld, which isn't easy. But as far as I'm aware, I should be work-free for the next two days." Ciel added, trying to change the subject. The next two days? That was Saturday and Sunday! It meant Alois would have all weekend with Ciel! Alois smiled to himself, as they arrived at his room. He looked over to Ciel, standing still. Ciel folded his arms across his chest, frowning with annoyance as he sighed. "You um... You said you felt ill. Are you alright?" Ciel asked, quietly. Alois raised an eyebrow, with a small smirk.

"Why? Do you actually care about me, Ciel?~" Alois taunted him, chuckling. Ciel scowled, shaking his head quckly.

"No, you idiot. I wanted to know if you had something I could catch. Go to bed, Trancy." Ciel dismissed him, waving him away. "If you're hungry when you wake up, get Sebastian to make you something. Because I plan on sleeping too." He added, Alois frowning and tilting his head a little.

"What, you can sleep?" Alois asked, confused. "I thought you were a...?"

"I am. But just because I don't need sleep doesn't mean I can't. I can still sleep, and I plan on doing it. I want to rest my head after this neverending week. Goodbye, Trancy." Ciel finished, saying nothing else as he turned and began to walk away. Alois sighed quietly and nodded slowly.

"Bye..." Alois mumbled, before heading into his room. He was so tired. Sure it was early, but he didn't care if he slept a full 20 hours. Alois was exhausted. Whatever happened earlier, it really... really took it out of him. But it didn't matter. He didn't need to think about that, it wasn't something he should worry about. It was a one-off thing. Alois felt better after speaking to Ciel, he was fine. He was probably just too under the weather right now. Alois got changed into some pyjamas slowly, dragging his clothes off with a frown. Once he was changed, Alois pulled the covers from his bed, quickly jumping under them. It didn't take long until he was fading out, happily falling asleep to put these feelings behind him.

* * *

There was so much blood on his hands. Alois didn't know what he was doing. But there was Sebastian's body. Still and lifeless, blood leaking from his mouth and around his corpse. His face had a look of surprise, like he couldn't believe he was dead. Alois nudged the body with his foot, but it didn't move. Sebastian was dead. And then his eyes trailed around a little more. Luka's body. His parents. They were dead too, all with fatal wounds. And Alois was drenched in all of their different bloods. But there was one more, that still breathed. Ciel. Ciel was still alive. He was watching Alois with wide eyes, blood dripping down the corner of his mouth as his chest rose and fall gently, his head cocked to one side to stare Alois right in the eyes. Alois had to help! He begun to approach, Ciel trying to move back, but it was too late. Alois suddenly had his hand, like a dagger, in Ciel's chest. And it stopped rising and falling. The eyes rolled back. More blood choked forth from his throat, covering his face. Spurts of the red liquid hit Alois' already drenched face and body, the heart broken. Malfunctioning. Alois' eyes widened. And he began to scream.

Alois' eyes shot open and he sat up, quicker than a bullet fired from a gun. He was panting heavily, his heartbeat erratic. What kind of dream was that?! It was horrific! Seeing everybody he knew dead, by his hand? No... It had done more than freak Alois out a little. He looked to his right, at the window. It was dark now. He grabbed his phone. It was 2am. Alois shot out of the bed, not getting changed as he ran out of his bedroom. Where was Ciel's room? He didn't know. Shit, why didn't he know?! Alois' footsteps headed quickly along the hallway. He was running. Until some force stopped him. Alois tumbled to the floor, making contact with something and going flying. He groaned and looked down. Sebastian. Sebastian was underneath him, him being the force that had stopped Alois. Alois had ran straight into him. "Master Trancy." Sebastian said, through gritted teeth. "What, pray tell, were you doing running around the manor, in complete darkness at 2am?" He growled, annoyed. Alois looked at the man's face, barely able to see it in the darkness, but he was okay. He looked like he wanted to kill Alois, but he was okay. He wasn't dead. That meant Ciel wasn't. Alois was kneeled on Sebastian, his knees pressing into the demon's torso.

"Ciel. Where is Ciel?" Alois asked, before being tossed aside. He rolled across the floor, until he heard footsteps towards him and looked up. Those eyes again.

"Asleep. Which means, he is powerless to stop me." Sebastian reminded Alois. Of course, he was still under the order to protect Alois, but Alois didn't know that. But the scare tactic didn't work. Alois was in a panicking frame of mind, and nothing was going to phase him right now.

"Take me to him. Now, demon." Alois demanded, raising his voice. Sebastian raised an eyebrow.

"Have you forgotten your position, master Trancy? I don't believe you can give me any order." Sebastian laughed, Alois slowly getting to his feet and squaring up to Sebastian, who was much taller.

"Don't make me repeat myself." Alois scowled.

"Or what? What is a human like you going to-.." Sebastian was cut off, as Alois brought his hand up and brought the back of his hand in contact with Sebastian's face. In Sebastian's blind arrogance, he hadn't even noticed the attack. There was silence after the loud smack noise echoed through the hallway, Alois eventually breaking it.

"I said take me to him, demon!" Alois snarled, angrily.

"You will regret that, master Trancy." Sebastian retorted, before leading the boy to Ciel's room. He opened the door slowly, Alois rushing in. There was Ciel. Not exactly sleeping anymore though. He sat up once Alois entered the room, frowning.

"What are you doing up at this time of night?" Ciel asked, with a scowl. Alois just stared at him, breathing a sigh of relief.

"I had a nightmare, and you were all dead. I murdered you all. I don't-... I don't know where it came from. But I just had to see you." Alois told him, Ciel frowning.

"Oh, you don't _even_ know the definition of nightmare yet, master Trancy..." Sebastian uttered, under his breath. Ciel held up his hand to silence the butler, before sighing.

"Alright, fine. You've seen me. Will you leave me to sleep now?" Ciel asked.

"No!" Alois exclaimed, Ciel raising an eyebrow. "I-I mean... I don't want to be alone. I'm bad with nightmares..." He admitted, frowning.

"Well you aren't sleeping in my room, you can piss off." Ciel growled, warning him. Alois moved a little closer, leaning in.

"Plllllease, Ciel?~" Alois purred, getting the other flustered quickly, knowing how to manipulate him with a small smirk. Ciel backed up a little, gulping nervously.

"F-Fine! You may sleep on the floor, like a dog! But that's it!" Ciel offered, not prepared to sleep beside the other. Alois thought a moment, before shrugging. The room had a carpeted floor, and it was really soft.

"It works for me!" Alois laughed, before looking towards Sebastian and waving. "Okay! You can leave now!" He added, smiling sweetly and fakely to annoy the demon. Alois was aware he was playing a dangerous game, annoying Sebastian, but he didn't care. He trusted Ciel wouldn't let Sebastian do anything. Sebastian looked pissed, as he quickly left. Alois smirked to himself. How amusing that a demon had a short patience with Alois. He could exploit that. Alois happily sighed, as he curled up on the floor, like a dog. He didn't even care. Just being in the same room as Ciel was like heaven for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading today's two chapters! I appreciate any comments that have been left, and any feedback! I focused on Alois the past two chapters because I believed it was necessary that I show you guys a little more of his personality now, and why he acts like he does. If you have anything to add, any suggested improvements, or even maybe a side-plot idea, comment it down below and I'll respond! Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy the upcoming chapters tomorrow!


	11. That Butler, Bickering

Ciel woke up slowly, his eyes flickering open. It had been a while since he slept, so it felt nice just to wake up naturally again. He let himself sink into the bed, rubbing his eyes with a yawn. As the daylight was creeping into the room, everything felt peaceful... For a whole five seconds. Until that overbearing smell hit him. It was so sweet, like a strong perfume. Jesus, it was horrid! Or at least, that was what Ciel told himself, trying to hate it. But in reality, the smell was quite pleasant. But Ciel refused those thoughts and sat up with a groan. He couldn't relax with that _stench_ in here. Ciel rubbed his eyes again, before beginning to open them fully, blinking them as to get rid of the water in his eyes. He looked around the room. It was dimly lit, with daylight only just about breaking through. And Alois was on the bed. His head was resting on the side of the bed, along with his arm  which stretched out across it. The rest of his body was slumped like a ragdoll of to the side. "When did I say you could rest on the bed?!" Ciel exclaimed, before giving the boy's shoulder a sharp kick, sending him falling off the bed and hitting the ground. There was a delayed reaction, Alois' eyes only blinking open a little once he was on the floor.

"Mmm... Good morning to you too, Ciel." Alois said, looking up to the boy through his barely opened eyes. "It's too early." He mumbled, as he stretched out. Ciel scowled, shaking his head.

"Don't be stupid. You should always wake up early, so you have more time in the day to get things done." Ciel retorted, Alois laughing softly.

"Yeah, maybe in 1888. Normal teenagers don't wake up at 6am, Ciel. Well, then again..." Alois trailed off, before yawning and sitting up slowly.

"That'll be the last time you sleep in my room, Trancy." Ciel told him, with a 'hmph' noise as he looked around again. It was just about 6am, and the servants would just about be being woken up by Sebastian.

"Oh, we'll see about that." Alois chuckled quietly, smirking a little to himself. Ciel looked over and raised an eyebrow, sighing. He shook his head and spun around, dangling his legs off the bed. Ciel ran a hand through his hair, before clearing his throat.

"Okay. Get out." Ciel said, out of nowhere. Alois frowned, standing up slowly. "I'm getting changed. Leave." He ordered again, Alois just nodding and heading for the door.

"Wow, Ciel can dress himself. So you aren't useless after all?" Alois joked, Ciel's face contorting angrily.

"OUT!" Ciel shouted again, throwing a shoe at Alois as he quickly dashed out of the room and shut the door, whilst laughing.

* * *

Alois got changed into some... rather promiscuous clothes. Short denim shorts, and a short-sleeved shirt. Alois mostly got changed like that to garner the attention, but there was a second reason. When he was dressed like this before, Ciel seemed to like it. And Alois wanted to make sure he was happy. But it was quite amusing, watching him turn pink. It made Alois feel like he was doing something right. And that felt good, and helped him ignore everything else. That odd feeling especially. Everything else just seemed to dull when he was with Ciel. He could just let all his other senses and everything else melt away. Alois happily rushed out of his room once he was changed, going out to look around the manor. He passed a few maids walking around, and ignored them, heading downstairs to the dining room. And there was Sebastian, preparing the room quickly. Alois stood by the doorway, leaning on it with a smug smirk. "Good morning, demon.~" Alois chuckled, watching him. Sebastian stopped, looking over his shoulder with a scowl. 

"Master Trancy. Good morning." Sebastian responded, very coldly. He began to set the table, pretending as if Alois wasn't there and trying to ignore him. Alois loved how he made Sebastian's blood boil.

"So, where's Ciel?" Alois asked, walking into the dining room. He headed around the table, touching the cloth on the top of it and earning a glare from Sebastian.

"I believe he's getting changed, master Trancy." Sebastian said, watching Alois carefully as he made his way around the table.

"Wow, you're good. I guess you keep tabs on him at all times?" Alois asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I simply make sure I know if my master is okay. Especially after he's slept with somebody like yourself in his room, master Trancy." Sebastian quickly retorted, leaving the table alone. Cutlery, plates and the cloth were all laid on the table neatly, prepared for breakfast. Alois scoffed, watching the demon.

"That's a rather rude thing to say." Alois pouted, giving Sebastian a fake frown.

"Not at all. The truth is, master Trancy, is that you attempted to kill my young master on multiple occasions. If there's anybody I must keep track of, it's you." Sebastian explained, watching him with angry eyes, but a completely blank expression otherwise. Alois flashed him a bright smile.

"But I apologised! I'm planning on being super nice to Ciel from now on, so you don't have to worry!" Alois giggled, before the smile was wiped off his face. "But, as for you..." He muttered, before sliding a plate off the table. Suddenly, Alois was pushed back and Sebastian grabbed the plate before it hit the floor, but he then felt somebody holding his back and steadying him. Alois looked up. Sebastian, smiling fakely.

"You shouldn't be so clumsy, master Trancy! Somebody could get hurt." Sebastian said, in an upbeat tone. Alois let out a 'hmph' noise before walking forward and shrugging Sebastian away.

"Don't bother waking my family. They like to sleep in." Alois said, changing the subject.

"As you wish, master Trancy." Sebastian said, before hurrying off to go check on Ciel. Alois sighed and took a seat at the table, relaxing a little and waiting for Sebastian to return and serve breakfast. He drummed his fingers against the table as he thought, just being silent and alone with his thoughts. He didn't mind the silence for a little while. But after a few more minutes, it was unbearable. Where was Ciel? Or even Sebastian? Either worked, he just wanted to speak with somebody. Alois felt sick again. Why was he being so rude to Sebastian? The butler didn't deserve that, did he? No, he did, because he was a demon. But Ciel was a demon... Then it was because Alois was Alois, and was allowed to mock whoever he wanted! But was he Alois? He was Alois before, wasn't he Jim now? Alois moved his hands to his head, shaking it quickly. No, no, he couldn't think about this. Not again, it hurt. It hurt so bad to get confused and think. He had to stop. Ciel. Think about Ciel. Ciel was nice. Alois lived in the same manor as Ciel. He got to spend all weekend with Ciel. Ciel was going to speak to him. That was good. Alois' breathing slowed down. His expression softened and he moved his hands away slowly. Alois just had to think about Ciel. That was good. That was easy. Eventually, he heard footsteps approaching. Ciel.


	12. That Butler, Spying

Ciel sat on the edge of his bed after Alois had left, sighing quietly as he heard the footsteps receed. He stared at the wall for a little while, thinking. What was he doing? Letting Alois sleep in his room, it was ridiculous! Letting Alois stay in his manor was more than enough, he didn't need to share a room with the boy now. Ciel rose to his feet slowly, before throwing the covers back over his bed properly, knowing a maid would fully make it soon enough. Ciel began to grab clothes from his wardrobe, looking for something decent to wear. He was sick of this, sick of acting submissive to the other boy. Ciel was going to start being more dominant, and showing Alois that he wasn't going to take any of the boy's foolishness. Ciel had been generous enough to allow him a position here, even let his parents live off his own wealth! So, it was about time he started getting the respect he deserved. Ciel pulled a plain white shirt out of his wardrobe, laying it down on the bed, before heading back over to the wardrobe and looking for something else to wear. Sebastian had recently modernised Ciel's wardrobe to look less suspicious, but he didn't like it. Ciel preferred his old clothes, but he understood the need to dress inconspicuously. He pulled out some matching plain trousers, not a fan of anything that had a pattern or a logo on. Ciel needed to start showing Alois who he was. Sure, he was lonely. Of course, he was grateful to have somebody he knew back, especially now that they weren't trying to kill him. But Alois was taking advantage and toying with Ciel. That was unacceptable, especially now that Ciel was a demon. No, he had to be scary. Assertive. And Ciel would be. He'd make sure of it. Ciel eventually pulled out some socks, underpants as well as a blue jacket to wear over his shirt, which fit quite nicely. After getting changed, he finally looked over to his nightstand. Ciel slid open one of the drawers, before picking out a black eyepatch. He slid it back shut, tying it around his head, tightly. Ciel put on some shoes which were a dull black, but fit his outfit fine. Ciel looked good. And he looked important. Ciel was about to head for the door when he heard a knock. "Young master? Are you alright?" Sebastian asked, through the wood. Ciel turned and headed over, opening it.

"I'm fine. What's for breakfast, Sebastian?" Ciel asked, raising an eyebrow as he walked past Sebastian, leaving the butler to close the door and follow behind.

"Well, young master, I wasn't preparing any. It's up to you, but I decided it'd be best to wait for your decision on whether to wait for the Macken family to wake before preparing breakfast." Sebastian explained.

"Fine. I expect you've prepared some tea?" Ciel asked, as they approached the staircase.

"Of course, young master. It's waiting in the kitchen. And master Trancy is in the dining room." Sebastian told him, Ciel smirking at the butler's narrowed eyes when he mentioned Alois' name.

"I will go to the dining room then. Bring my tea in there." Ciel told him, before beginning down the staircase.

"Yes, young master." Sebastian responded simply, before going to silence. Just as they reached the last step, Ciel grabbed the butler's sleeve and stopped him from walking off.

"By the way, what is this petty rivalry between yourself and Trancy about?" Ciel asked, frowning as he looked up to Sebastian. Sebastian smiled a little, narrowing his eyes again.

"He prevented me from claiming your soul, which I had been quite excited to claim. On top of that, I'm now bound to you until your death, which I must prevent with my life." Sebastian said, smiling fakely and sweetly. "That is why, young master."

"Well, what about Trancy? Why do you believe he dislikes you?" Ciel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'd guess that he dislikes me, because you have me." Sebastian answered simply.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ciel asked, confused. Sebastian smirked, before turning a little.

"For somebody who's lived for 128 years, you aren't very observant, are you young master?" Sebastian responded, before heading off to the kitchen. Ciel just narrowed his eyes, wondering what the butler meant. However, he just sighed and began towards the dining room. He heard quick breathing, almost like somebody was having an asthma attack. Ciel poked his head around the doorway, before seeing Alois sat, waiting. Was he imagining the breathing? Ciel ignored it and looked to Alois' smiling face, sighing again.

"Why do you insist on wearing such clothing?" Ciel asked, with a scowl as he headed closer.

"You seem to like it enough, Ciel.~" Alois purred, with a small smirk. Ciel's face didn't change as he headed a little closer.

"You look ridiculous dressed like that." Ciel retorted, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Well you look incredibly ho-..." Alois was interrupted by Ciel's hand making contact with his face, spinning it a little. A slap? Why?!

"Don't make comments like that! Now apologise for-"

"I'm sorry Ciel! I won't do it again, I promise!" Alois said quickly, his eyes almost wild as he gripped onto the collar of Ciel's jacket. Ciel's eye widened a little with surprise. Why was he reacting so strangely? Physically, Alois was much stronger, he could probably hit back twice as hard. And Ciel didn't even hit that hard, he wouldn't have hurt Alois. What was wrong with him?

"Get your hands off me." Ciel ordered, much calmer. Alois' hands shot away quickly, as he placed them on his legs. He looked away. Was he... Was he trembling? Ciel frowned, confused. This was more than odd. "It's fine, Trancy. I forgive you. Just don't do it again." Ciel murmured, before taking a seat next to Alois. Alois' shaking seemed to stop, and he seemed to return to normal, beaming brightly.

"That's good then! So, what've you got planned all day?" Alois asked, leaning on the table with a smirk as he watched Ciel. Ciel wasn't sure what to make of this. There was something wrong with Alois.

"Nothing, as I said before. I'm not planning on going anywhere, neither have I got any work to do. My schedule is open." Ciel answered simply, not letting his concern or curiousness show through.

"Oh yeah! How about we have a game of chess, or something? I was never the best, but I remember you were an expert. I bet I could beat you!" Alois laughed, Ciel scoffing and shaking his head.

"You must be insane, but fine." Ciel said confidently, before seeing Sebastian approach. "It took you long enough, Sebastian." Ciel scowled, annoyed that he'd taken so long to walk a short distance. Sebastian set the tea down and bowed.

"My apologies young master. One of the servants wished to speak with me." Sebastian explained, before Ciel stood up slowly.

"Sebastian, I wish to speak with you a minute." Ciel said, holding one finger up to Alois as he left the room with the butler. Ciel headed off to the right, stopping a little while down the hallway. "I want you to keep an eye on Trancy." Ciel ordered, Sebastian chuckling.

"Young master, I've been doing that already. What makes you ask for it now?" Sebastian inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not sure. He reacted strangely to something earlier. I don't believe he's stable at the moment. I want you to tell me if you see him behaving strangely. Is that understood?" Ciel demanded, Sebastian nodding and bowing.

"Yes, young master. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go see to the servants." Sebastian told Ciel simply, before heading off.

* * *

Alois spent the next few hours talking with Ciel. He was behaving rather mildly, but that was for a good reason. What happened earlier had really messed up Alois, so much to the point that he'd already buried that thought away. It didn't matter anyways. Ciel was perfect, Ciel was right. Alois was being rude, and he shouldn't have been. Alois didn't have a right to behave like that with Ciel, not when he was so horrid in comparison. But either way, Alois continued with the day and he loved spending time with the boy. After a little while, Alois' family came downstairs and they all had breakfast, before Ciel eventually stood up. He seemed to be in a decent mood, but he was a lot harsher with Alois now. He warned him every time Alois said something he didn't like, which Alois didn't mind. He preferred it over being hit. Alois looked towards Ciel and raised an eyebrow, as he pushed his chair under. "Well, Jim? Are you willing to face me in chess or not?" Ciel offered, with smug smile on his face. Alois' mother raised an eyebrow, confused.

"Chess? Jim, you play chess?" She asked, smiling with surprise.

"Yeah, I learned how to play a little while back. I'm an expert now." Alois bragged, smirking proudly. Ciel laughed, shaking his head.

"If you're an expert, then I'm a grand-master!" Ciel told him, before gesturing for Alois to follow him to the living room.

"Alright then Jim, have fun!" His mother called after him as he quickly stood up, Alois smiling brightly.

"I will, don't worry!" Alois responded, before catching up to Ciel. Ciel walked in silence, but led Alois towards the large doors entering the living room, pushing them open with a smirk. Sebastian was stood there, with his hands behind his back and a fake smile on his face. Alois' smile wavered a little, but he didn't drop it. There was a chess board prepared, with two armchairs on either side, facing across from each other with the chess board on a small table in the middle. Ciel sat down in the chair with Sebastian stood beside him, and music was quietly playing over the stereo in the back ground. "Well, isn't this pleasant?" Alois asked rhetorically, smirking as he took a seat across from Ciel.

"Well, I tried to make it as comforting as possible so you have somewhere to cry when you lose." Ciel smirked, leaning in a little. "I even gave you first move." Ciel told him, pointing out that Alois had the white pieces. Alois laughed quietly, shaking his head slowly.

"Well I appreciate the handicap, but I don't think I need it." Alois said confidently, before crossing one leg over the other. Both boys looked good, in their own respective right. "Although, wouldn't you agree that after this much time, traditional chess can be... bland?" Alois suggested, Ciel narrowing his eyes a little.

"Where are you going with this?" Ciel asked, raising an eyebrow suspciously.

"I believe we should have a more amusing game. It's all well and good, the original game, but in this, it'll be higher stakes." Alois began, Ciel interested. "So, let's say I take your pawn. In that case, you have to do something of my choosing. But, if it is only a pawn, it must remain in this room, and involve only the three of us. Say if I took a knight, a bishop or a rook, I could choose something throughout the rest of the manor, able to take place anywhere. If I got your Queen, it could involve somebody else, such as a servant or one of my family members. And whoever wins the game gets to decide the ultimate punishment. By this, it can involve the other person's image, something completely degrading, something painful or so on. Does that make sense?" Alois asked, with a sadistic grin on his face. Ciel was smiling too, with that same expression.

"It does. And I think it could be interesting." Ciel admitted, sitting up a little. Sebastian sighed silently, shaking his head disapprovingly.

"So?" Alois asked, gesturing Ciel to give him an answer.

"So..." Ciel began, before pointing to the board. "It's your move, Trancy." He said confidently, excited for this unique game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh, I'm sorry these chapters came out so late. I got caught up watching the EA E3 conference and I've been quite busy otherwise as well. But, they're here! I appreciate the feedback, and those of you that are following the fic are really making me want to keep writing, so thank you! Expect two more chapters tomorrow!


	13. That Butler, Spectating

Alois quickly moved a pawn forward, seeming to choose one at random and placing it two steps ahead. Ciel raised an eyebrow with a frown, sighing quietly. "Trancy, if you're not even going to plan out any of your moves, this is going to be a very quick and very boring match." Ciel scowled, Alois shaking his head slowly.

"You're overthinking it Ciel. This is the first move, spending five minutes planning it out is going to kill the anticipation." Alois retorted, before leaning on his palm. "Go ahead and make your move, Ciel." Alois told him, watching him with a smirk. Ciel narrowed his eyes a little, thinking. Did Alois actually have some sort of master plan up his sleeve, or was he doing this simply as it happened? Ciel assumed the latter, but he wasn't sure. It could very well be the former with this boy. Ciel slowly moved a pawn forward two steps, before sitting back.

"Very well. Are you going to consider any of your moves, or do you just plan on sitting there and throwing away the game?" Ciel asked, sighing quietly. Alois shrugged with a smirk on his face.

"Who knows? Throwing away the game might be fun. I'll still get a few pieces of yours, and get to dish out a few punishments of my own." Alois responded, Ciel scowling and narrowing his eyes.

"You aren't taking this seriously at all, are you?" Ciel growled, before shaking his head. Alois moved another pawn, thinking. If he made his moves look random, and quick, Ciel would get placed into a false sense of security. And then, he'd pay less attention. Which meant Alois would have a better chance of winning. Ciel narrowed his eyes, watching him incredulously. Was Alois stupid? Just playing so recklessly? Ciel frowned and shook his head slowly, just moving another pawn. Sebastian could straight through Alois' flimsy tactic, but it would probably work. Ciel usually played by sacrificing smaller pieces, to keep the important ones safe. But now, that wasn't going to cut it. By sacrificing even one pawn, Ciel was at risk. Thanks to the unique system Alois had put in place.

"Of course I'm taking it seriously. I'd love to get to punish you as much as I want, but at the end of the day, how could I expect to beat a master...?~" Alois purred, with a smirk. Ciel scowled and let out a 'hmph' noise, before responding with a move of his own. Now Alois' pawn was close to Ciel's, and if he made the wrong move, Ciel could take the piece. Alois smiled sweetly, before moving the piece right into Ciel's path. He was acting, and that was clear to Sebastian. But Ciel wasn't sure of what Alois was doing, and just took the pawn, knocking it down. Ciel sighed and shook his head. "Alright. Now, you can punish me." Alois said sweetly, nodding slowly and watching Ciel. Ciel sighed and looked around. He looked down to the side and stared at the flames of the fire in the room, before looking to Sebastian.

"The poker. Five seconds." Ciel told Sebastian, Sebastian bowing and grabbing a fire poker and holding it in the flame for a few seconds. He handed to Ciel, and Ciel pointed the sharp end towards Alois with a sadistic smile. "Wrap your index finger around it. Squeeze it tight for two seconds." Ciel demanded, Alois staring at it. He had expected something darker from Ciel, but something that extreme this quick? Damn, Alois expected something like physical contact, but this was a little much. Alois gulped down nervously, before nodding slowly.

"Fine. But as soon as I do this, that means you must commit to any punishment I give you. Deal?" Alois explained, Ciel nodding slowly.

"That was the deal, Alois. What, are you scared?" Ciel taunted him, laughing as he moved the poker a little closer. Alois wrapped the index finger around it, before gasping a little.

"OW!" Alois exclaimed, counting the seconds quickly in his head. However, Ciel said them aloud. Teasingly slow. Eventually, Alois took his finger away, sucking on it and whimpering a little. Ciel burst into laughter, tossing the poker aside. It wasn't held in the fire enough to blister Alois' skin, but it still hurt like hell. Alois suckled on the finger, trying to cool it down and soothe it. Ciel continued laughing wildly, before eventually calming down a little, Alois watching him with a pout on his face.

"You... You were pathetic!" Ciel laughed, Alois still pouting a little.

"Let's just continue." Alois said quietly, frowning as he moved a knight.

* * *

The next piece to go was Ciel's pawn, taken out by Alois' knight. It was seemingly by accident, but Alois had it all planned out. He had to keep up this charade. Alois frowned as he sucked on his finger again, the skin red and still stinging badly. "Alright Trancy. What punishment are you going to deliver?" Ciel asked, raising an eyebrow. He expected the worst from Alois, especially considering the harsh start. But Alois just took his finger out of his mouth and smiled sweetly again.

"Not much. Just, take off your jacket." Alois told him, with a shrug. He continued the deceving smile , watching Ciel's reaction. Ciel was just confused, raising an eyebrow. Where was this going? Sebastian seemed to know exactly where, sighing quietly.

"That's all?" Ciel confirmed, unsure. Alois nodded slowly, the smile still planted on his face.

"That's all. Just take off that blue jacket, that's the punishment." Alois demanded, Ciel doing as he was asked. He took off his jacket, laying it down beside the armchair. "Okay. Let's continue." Alois told him, smiling as he gestured to the board.

"Well, not quite yet. There's going to be another interruption, I suppose." He explained, before proceeding to take out Alois' knight with a bishop. Alois stared at the board and blinked for a few seconds, realising he hadn't even seen it was there. What an idiot. Alois groaned quietly, sitting back. His index finger twitched a little, and he whined softly.

"Please go easy on me this time..." Alois whimpered, folding his finger into his hand and looking away a little.

"Oh don't worry. Since you were so generous before, I'll make sure to be... nice, this time." Ciel promised, laughing darkly. Alois raised an eyebrow hopefully, but he was even more worried now.

"You... You will?" Alois asked, his voice quiet as he took his mind off his finger.

"Of course. Now, are you ready for your punishment?" Ciel asked, raising an eyebrow with a smirk. Alois winced a little.

"Uhm... Yes?" Alois responded, very nervous.

"Alright. You're going to show me your room. All of it. Everything thing in there, every book, every film. Whatever is on your laptop. Everything." Ciel ordered, rising to his feet slowly. Alois' face went pale.

"Are you... You're kidding?" Alois stammered, shocked.

"Nope. Let's go." Ciel told him, Sebastian raising an eyebrow, amused as he headed for the door too. Alois' face was drained of colour, and his eyes were wide. Oh no.


	14. That Butler, Laughing

Alois stood outside his bedroom door, his hand on the handle as he bit his lip. "What are you waiting for?" Ciel asked, smirking smugly. Alois had found himself blushing a little, which was the complete opposite of his pale face earlier.

"Well um... My room really isn't that exciting you know. We can really choose something else for the punishment." Alois told him, laughing quietly and nervously. Ciel raised an eyebrow, shaking his head slowly.

"No, no. I remember it being quite interesting. Open the door, Trancy. Now." Ciel ordered, still smiling a little, but sadistically. Alois whined under his breath as he slowly pulled down on the handle and pushed the door open. He revealed the specifically designed room, sighing softly. Ciel strolled in, before taking a seat on the bed. Sebastian walked in slowly, smirking as he looked around.

"Oh wow. Master Trancy, you certainly do have... an acquired taste." Sebastian laughed, shaking his head. Alois folded his arms across his chest, sighing. His face was a light shade of pink.

"Stupid demons..." Alois mumbled under his breath, huffing. Ciel chuckled as he sat on the bed, Sebastian himself standing beside Ciel and waiting. Alois sighed and shut the door quickly, scowling.

"Alright, Trancy. Show us what you have." Ciel ordered, Alois sighing again.

"Fine. But don't be disappointed when you don't see anything interesting." Alois responded, before walking over to the TV. He opened the cupboards that were underneath it, showing off his collection of films. "Here. If you care enough you can read though all the titles. There also some books here, and some in the other drawers." Alois explained, before opening the other cupboards around the TV. It revealed collections of books, CDs and films, all neatly lined up. Alois headed around the room, kicking his laptop under his bed and clearing his throat. "Alright. That's it. End of the tour." Alois said, folding his arms over his chest and looked away. Ciel raised an eyebrow.

"Oh no, I really doubt that's it. What about those drawers on either side of your bed?" Ciel asked, with a small smirk.

"What do you expect to be in there? Clothes? Because that's it." Alois retorted quickly, and nervously. Sebastian snickered quietly at the boy's nervous demeanour, before Ciel reached over to the drawers and began to pull them open.

"Hey! Stop!" Alois protested, being ignored by Ciel as he chuckled. Ciel pulled open one drawer. It was clothes. That was it. The first drawer, out of three on that side.

"Boring." Ciel murmured, annoyed. He slammed it shut, before pulling open the second one. Ciel raised an eyebrow, before it was slammed shut. It just had a box of tissues. That was it. Alois had his hand on it, shaking his head quickly.

"Okay. You've had your fun. Out." Alois said, a little more determined, but his face was now bright red.

"The third drawer. Sebastian." Ciel ordered, clicking his fingers. Alois was suddenly being held back, Sebastian's arms wrapped around his small frame. Alois struggled viciously, but Ciel slowly pulled open the drawer. And laughed. There were a bunch of different magazines in the drawer, most of which had a shirtless man on the front. "Oh my..." Ciel laughed, before picking up a magazine and holding the cover to show Sebastian.

"No! You... You put those away!" Alois exclaimed loudly, struggling against Sebastian's iron grip. It wasn't something Alois or Ciel had ever heard, but he heard Sebastian genuinely laughing. It wasn't kind laughter though. It was mocking laughter, as he looked to Alois' bright red face.

"Those are... rather interesting." Sebastian laughed, shaking his head and closing his eyes. Ciel tossed the magazine back into the drawer and walked over to the other drawers on the other side of the bed.

"No! Not those! Stay away from those! Don't open them, please Ciel!" Alois begged desperatley, but Ciel just waved him away and opened the drawer. Clothes in the top two. But in the third... Only Ciel could see, and he fell backwards with laughter, Alois' face being a very dark shade of red. Ciel panting quietly, before eventually reaching into the drawer and holding something up for Sebastian to see. An eyeliner. Makeup. The drawer was filled with makeup. Alois whined and looked away, trying to bury his face, whilst Sebastian laughed again. Ciel just shut the drawer and sighed, shaking his head with a huge grin on his face.

"I'd say that's enough for now. I probably wouldn't even understand most of the stuff you've looked up on your laptop." Ciel scoffed, before sighing gladly. Sebastian slowly let Alois go as he grabbed his own arm and rubbed it, looking off to the side. "Now, Trancy, should we return to the chess game?" Ciel offered, a smirk on his face. Alois continued to look of the side, blushing a quite dark red.

"Alright..." He mumbled, unsure what to say. Alois was embarrassed, and he felt ridiculed, but he didn't really mind. It was Ciel. Ciel was allowed to do what he wanted to him, because it was Ciel. Alois didn't have a choice. And Alois didn't care.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise for the drop of quality and length in the past two chapters, but I was running seriously short on inspiration here, as well as sleep deprivation being an issues. If you notice any typos which I didn't notice, I again apologise, and promise that the quality will return in the upcoming chapters. Thanks for reading.


	15. That Butler, Amused

Alois had practically dragged himself back to the living room, not taking his eyes off the floor. His face was still flushed, and he couldn't bear to look the other in the face. Or Sebastian. He could hear them still snickering a little, and could see the smirks on their faces from the corner of his eyes as he headed into the living room after them, closing the door and exhaling a sigh. This wasn't fair. Now Alois was going to be crucified for that. All of his blame was directed at Sebastian though. He planned on being even worse to him now. It wasn't Ciel's fault. It was Sebastian's. Alois took a seat slowly, before sighing and moving a pawn without saying a word. Ciel laughed at the look on Alois' face, before thinking. He came up with a strategy where he could lure out Alois' bishop, but would have to lose a knight. Oh well. After a few more turns, it was put into place and Alois slowly took Ciel's knight. "Okay..." Alois mumbled, before looking up to the other boy. Ciel still sat smirking smugly, watching Alois. However, he was prepared for anything the other boy decided to say. Well, except exactly what Alois said. "Take your shoes and socks off, and put them on top of your jacket." Alois ordered, watching him with a small smile pulling at the corner of his lips. Ciel raised an eyebrow, confused. Sebastian just sighed again, shaking his head slightly.

"Where are you going with this, Trancy?" Ciel asked, but didn't expect an answer. He just did as he was told, before shifting uncomfortably a little. Ciel had a feeling of unease growing within him, but he wasn't quite sure why. Ciel made his move, taking Alois' bishop with a rook, which Alois seemed to have noticed beforehand. Ciel looked around the room, for any inspiration as for a punishment. Alois sat impatiently and nervously, shuffling a little in his chair as he watched Ciel's amused eyes run over every part of the room. That sadistic grin sent shivers down Alois' spine. Ciel eventually seemed to settle on something, chuckling quietly to himself.

"Wh-What now, Ciel?" Alois asked, anxious for the words about to come out of Ciel's mouth. Ciel shrugged simply, as he stood up.

"Nothing much. I just want you to wash your face." Ciel told him with a small smirk. Alois' eyes widened a little. Oh no. He stood up quickly, clearing his throat.

"I... I mean, sure. Not sure why that's a punishment." Alois laughed uneasily, noticing Sebastian's smirk too. His face was already going red, wasn't it? Alois looked away, letting Ciel lead the way out of the room and to a bathroom. Ciel opened the door and went over to the sink, putting the plug in and filling the sink. There was an uncomfortable silence, at least for Alois, as the water ran. Eventually, Ciel turned the tap off, the sink being almost full.

"Alright, Trancy. Go for it." Ciel ordered, moving away from the sink. Alois took a few steps towards it, before looking over his shoulder. Ciel and Sebastian were stood next to one another, watching with anticipation.

"This is... This is stupid." Alois murmured, putting his hands on the side of the sink.

"Do it." Ciel demanded, snickering quietly. Alois whimpered softly as he cupped his hands in the water before splashing it on his face. He squeezed his eyes shit as he grabbed a towel and covered his face, backing up to the wall and holding it on his face still. Sebastian and Ciel looked over to the water. It was dis-coloured a little, but not with filth. With _something_ else. Ciel looked back over towards Alois, gesturing for Sebastian to move the towel. Alois suddenly felt it get ripped from his hands and heard laughter with his eyes squeezed shut. His face was a little paler, and there were two black lines going down from either eye. Alois sighed quietly, defeated. Ciel laughed as he looked to Sebastian, nodding. He was smiling widely too. Sebastian handed the towel back, Alois placing it back against his face slowly. Ciel began to walk out. "Alright, Trancy. Join us once you're ready." Ciel said, in a dull voice, but still smirking. He and Sebastian left back towards the living room, leaving Alois in the bathroom. Alois took the towel away and looked in the mirror. Ugh. He looked hideous. Alois washed the black lines off his face, before pausing. He looked at his pale skin and shook his head quickly. Alois couldn't go back to Ciel looking like this, it was disgraceful. So, he had to head to his room first.

* * *

Alois eventually returned and the game continued, going on as normal. The next piece to go was one of Ciel's pawns, by Alois' remaining knight. Ciel paused once he lost his piece, sitting back and raising an eyebrow. "Okay, what now? So far your punishments have been boring and small, so what-..." Ciel began, but he was cut off by Alois, who had a huge smirk on his face.

"Take off your shirt." Alois ordered, crossing one leg over the other. Sebastian just looked away and shook his head, expecting this. But Ciel hadn't realised what Alois was doing. Ciel gritted his teeth and growled under his breath.

"Ugh. Of course." Ciel mumbled, shaking his head slowly as he unbuttoned his shirt. He looked away from Alois' excited eyes, them making him feel nervous. Ciel slowly pulled it off, his face turning a slight shade of pink as he dropped it next to his shoes and jacket. He folded his arms across his chest, looking away as he blushed.

"Perfect!" Alois said, before quickly taking a photo with his phone and putting it in his pocket. Ciel's head spun as soon as he heard Alois speak, and his eyes widened a little as he saw the phone, but he was too slow to stop him. Ciel's mouth dropped a little as his fingers dug into the arms of the armchair.

"H-Hey! You delete that right now!" Ciel ordered, Alois chuckling. He shook his head quickly.

"Nope!~" Alois chimed, causing Ciel to scowl. He bit his lip, trying to think of something to say, as his brow furrowed.

"You perverted bastard." Ciel finally spat out, sitting back a little and sighing. Alois giggled and flashed him a bright smile as he gestured to the board.

"Your move, Ciel!" Alois said, in a sing-song voice. He was happy now. That was clear. Ciel moved a pawn, frustrated and not thinking about it. Alois smirked and laughed. "Oops!" He exclaimed, before taking Ciel's pawn with a bishop. Ciel blinked, confused. How had he not noticed that? Ciel growled, annoyed.

"Great! What now?" Ciel shouted, sarcastically. Alois opened his mouth to speak, but he was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Boys? Are you alright in there?" Came through the door. Alois' mother. Both the boy's eyes widened and Sebastian raised an eyebrow, amused at the turn of events. And then, the door clicked open.


	16. That Butler, Finishing

The door opened much too fast, Ciel and Alois both unable to do anything. Alois' mother, Abby, paused. She blinked at the scene, Alois and Ciel both caught off-guard. "Um... What's going on?" Abby asked, confused. Alois quickly stammered for an answer, but Ciel said something first.

"We're um... We're playing chess." Ciel responded quickly, but made it clear he was going to say something else. "But uh... Jim came up with an idea. It's like a forfeit system, every time you lose a piece, you have to do something bad." He explained, Alois nodded quickly. Honesty worked the best, he guessed. Well, it was better to any other explanation as to why Ciel was sat shirtless. Abby nodded slowly.

"I uhm... I see. You aren't hurting each other, are you?" She inquired, nervous. Alois' finger twitched a little, seeming to suddenly throb with pain as he narrowed his eyes at Ciel.

"Not physically." Alois murmured, Abby nodding again.

"Oh uh... Okay. Jim, could I speak with you a moment?" Abby asked Alois, gesturing for him to come to the door. Alois looked over to Ciel, who simply nodded and waved his hand, letting Alois go. He jumped up and headed over to the door, Abby ushering him out of the room and closing the door. She stood outside, not moving as she leaned a little closer.

"What is it?" Alois asked, quietly. He was confused about his parents. Technically, he had never met them. But, he'd also lived 14 years with them? It was confusing, and made his head spin a little as he tried to pick apart the memories.

"What were you doing in there, Jim?" Abby asked, raising an eyebrow with a small frown. Alois tilted his head a little to the side.

"Ciel already told you. We're playing a-"

"No, Jim. That's not what I mean." Abby said, giving him the disapproving mother look. "Why was Ciel shirtless?" She pushed a little further, Alois' face turning a little red.

"B-Because that was one of the punishments I gave. That's all." Alois said quickly, Abby shaking her head.

"Luka told me what you said about Ciel, Jim." Abby whispered, Alois' face flushing red quickly.

"O-OH! W-Well, I mean... It's not like I didn't... I wasn't..." Alois stammered, trying to squeeze something out, despite it feeling like he couldn't formulate even a basic sentence. Abby laughed at his reaction, as she ruffled his hair.

"Calm down, Jim. I'm not gonna tell Ciel." Abby chuckled, before her face turned a little darker as she pinched his cheek. "But show some decency. Be nice. How do you expect to get anywhere if you forcibly make him strip down?!" Abby asked rhetorically, tugging on his cheek a little as he winced slightly.

"Yes, mom..." Alois huffed, before pulling away. "I'll 'show some decency' I promise." He responded, before touching the door handle and getting ready to head back inside.

"Oh and Jim?" She said, before pulling on his ear. Alois gulped nervously. "If you steal my makeup again, I'll make sure to tell your father. Buy your own." Abby whispered, with a scowl on her face. Alois' face went a little pale as he nodded rapidly.

"Yes mother." Alois said, without skipping a beat. He hurried into the room, shutting it and sighing quietly as he leaned against the door. Ciel and Sebastian were both smirking. Had they... Had they heard? Alois looked away, nervously making his way back to his seat and sitting down.

"That made you sound like an obedient dog!" Ciel finally burst out laughing, shaking his head. "Oh, I think I've got some good matieral here... To make you do exactly as I say." He chuckled, Alois sighing and looking down to the chess board. He pointed to it with a small frown.

"Remember, it's my turn to punish you." Alois reminded Ciel, which just brought a prolonged sigh from the other boy.

"Yes, yes, just get on with it." Ciel said, bored. Alois thought a moment, considering what to say. Alois finally smirked.

"Okay. You're going to say exactly what I tell you, and I'm going to film it." Alois gasped, with a giggle. Ciel scowled, not wanting to be recorded as he was. And Alois' words made it even worse. He ran over and whispered something, snickering as he went back to his seat and pulled his phone out.

"Piss off! I'm not saying that!" Ciel snarled, annoyed. Alois waggled a finger.

"Nuh-uh, you gotta." Alois laughed, as he hit record. Ciel's face flushed red as he looked to the side.

"J-Jim Macken is superior to me. He is better in every way, and I... I wish that he would-..." Ciel stuttered, barely able to get the words out. Alois watched, his eyes wide and hopeful. However, suddenly Ciel looked back and shook his head quickly. "Screw this!" He exclaimed, before knocking the board off the table. "I forfeit! I'm not doing any more of your stupid punishments!" Ciel growled, Alois hitting stop recording and smirking smugly.

"Oh? You understand by giving up, I get to choose a final punishment? And it'll be the worst yet?" Alois asked, before Ciel nodded quickly.

"Yeah, so what? It's better than a bunch of degrading, stupid punishments! One is better." Ciel scowled, and Alois raised an eyebrow.

"Are you really sure?" Alois laughed, Ciel nodding quickly.

"Yes, Trancy! Just tell me what the damn thing is already!" Ciel shouted, referring to the punishment. Alois shrugged and sighed. Ciel had let his temper get the better of him. Alois stood up slowly. He had won.

"Okay. Get dressed. I'm going to get a photo of you in a dress." Alois told him, with a wink.


	17. That Butler, Tailoring

Ciel sat in a stunned silence for a few seconds. Did he... Did he hear that right? Alois was heading for the door, humming. "Sebastian, you can make one to fit him. Make sure it's pretty! Let me know when you're ready!~" Alois chimed, before opening the door and leaving promptly. Ciel didn't move for a few seconds, his mouth slightly ajar. Sebastian looked over to Ciel with a raised eyebrow, wondering what his response was going to be. Ciel eventually sighed, rubbing his temples and Sebastian spoke to break the silence.

"Young master, you don't have to do this. Master Trancy has no power over-"

"Shut up." Ciel demanded, scowling. "I made the bet. I had to expect anything. Sebastian, I-..." He began, his face turning a slight shade of pink. "Sebastian, I order you to make me a dress." Ciel finished, looking up to the demon's face. Sebastian chuckled quietly and bowed.

"Yes, young master." Sebastian obeyed, before looking around. "Although, I suggest we go to your room to do this. Doing it here could prove... embarrassing, should somebody enter." Sebastian added, Ciel nodding slowly and standing up. He got all of his clothes back on, dusting them down with a scoff. Ciel wasn't looking forward to the humiliation to come, but his pride was getting in the way. He believed he was doing the noble thing by sticking with his end of the deal, but in reality, he was just preparing himself for embarrassment. Ciel looked over to Sebastian.

"Well, lead the way." Ciel demanded, nodding towards the door. Sebastian headed out ahead of Ciel silently, both of them letting the silence remain as they walked. Alois was nowhere to be seen, and Ciel didn't really mind that. He could just do this without torment. Well, then again, Sebastian's smirk was more than torment enough. Eventually, they arrived at the door, and Ciel exhaled slowly, shaking his head. Sebastian looked over to him.

"Are you regretting your decision, young master?" Sebastian asked, with a small grin. Ciel looked up to him with a scowl and just pushed open the door, heading in quickly. He took a seat on his bed and paused, looking over to Sebastian.

"Do you know how to make a dress?" Ciel inquired, raising an eyebrow. Sebastian looked over to him and chuckled quietly.

"Young master, if I couldn't, how could I call myself a Phantomhive-"

"Alright, a yes would've worked fine." Ciel scowled, huffing as he folded his arms across his chest.

"I'll need to measure you. And I'll cut up some old clothes to make a dress." Sebastian explained, pulling on his gloves a little. Ciel nodded and waved the words away, seemingly uncaring. He stood up slowly, as Sebastian pulled a tape measurer out of seemingly nowhere. "Arms out, young master." Sebastian demanded, kneeling down beside him and beginning to take measurements.

"This is ridiculous... Why is Trancy so odd?" Ciel asked, frowning. Sebastian sighed and continued measuring, but shook his head.

"Young master, you really need to try and be more observant." Sebastian told him, Ciel frowning with confusion. Ciel looked towards Sebastian's concentrated face.

"What do you mean by that?" Ciel said, thinking the demon was challenging him.

"Master Trancy isn't odd, necessarily... But I don't think you understand what he is." Sebastian chuckled, mumbling something under his breath as he took measurements.

"Well, what is he then?" Ciel pushed further, annoyed that he wasn't understanding something.

"I really shouldn't have to explain it to you, young master. I didn't expect you to be _this_ naive." Sebastian began, shaking his head a little. "Young master, I believe master Trancy is a homosexual." He explained, Ciel raising an eyebrow. Ciel opened his mouth to speak, but Sebastian continued. "The magazines, young master. The makeup. His unhealthy obsession with you. And trust me, it is unhealthy. Either way, he has got an obsession with you. But you seem blinded to it." Sebastian explained, Ciel scoffing.

"I doubt it." He mumbled, unsure.

"You don't sound certain about that, young master." Sebastian observed, Ciel scowling.

"You're wrong, Sebastian. Now, enough of this nonsense." Ciel demanded, Sebastian just nodding slowly. He eventually stood up and put the tape away, nodding confidently.

"Okay, young master. I'll go prepare the dress and bring it here." Sebastian told him, heading for the door.

"...Yes, go do that." Ciel murmured, as he sat back down and looked away a little. Sebastian left, closing the door quietly and leaving Ciel with his own thoughts. What was Sebastian on about? An obsession with Ciel? Well, of course Alois had one, but that was because he wanted to kill Ciel, right? It wasn't... It wasn't like that. Then again, as Ciel thought more and more, Sebastian's logic made more sense to him. The magazines, well, why would Alois have them if he didn't... like them? And the tissues... Ciel's face quickly turned to a frown as he realised what that implied. Oh. Ew. Ciel grimaced a little and sighed as he fell back onto the bed and relaxed a little. The makeup? Well, Trancy didn't have to be gay to use it really, but... Ciel ran his fingers through his hair and whined quietly. This was confusing. He hadn't cared about anybody since Elizabeth, and he had certainly never felt the way he did with Elizabeth towards Alois. Well... Ciel had never considered thinking about Alois in such a way. Back when Alois was alive the first time, such an act, such a thought; It would've been unacceptable. Then again, as Ciel thought about it, there were signs back then too, weren't they? The dress, the eyepatch, the ear... Ciel shivered at the thought, but it was odd. He wasn't... disgusted by it. He was thinking. And what did Sebastian mean by 'unhealthy obsession'? Of course the obsession was unhealthy, Alois wanted to hurt Ciel. But, that wasn't what Sebastian meant, was it? Ciel continued to think, trying to figure something out, but nothing came. So he focused on the current thought about Trancy. Ciel was confused, and he didn't understand this. None of it made sense. Why... Why would Alois like Ciel anyways? By physical attraction, surely Alois was superior. He was taller, he had both eyes, a normal hair colour, a nice body, nice legs and-... Ciel stared up at the ceiling with a small smile on his face as he thought about it, but quickly realised what he was doing. His eye widened a little as he focused, controlling his thoughts. Absolutley not. Not only was Trancy a dangerous enemy, who now had the possible powers of an angel, he was... Well, he was a boy. Ciel had never once considered those types of thoughts, so why now? Was it what Sebastian said, or was it something else? Was it Ciel's own repressed feelings? Ciel quickly shook his head and sighed again, tightening his grasp on his hair. No, he couldn't think like that. It'd only make a weakness. Ciel couldn't do this, he couldn't form an attachment. But, then again, he didn't have a choice, did he? The feelings were already there, and Ciel just had to deal with them now. He frowned uncomfortably as he made that realisation, and placed his hands on his face, shaking his head. Caring about people was a weakness. Caring about your enemy was a fatal mistake. But... What if they didn't have to be enemies. What if, just maybe, they could... They could get along?


	18. That Butler, Presenting

Ciel heard the door click open and sat up slowly, clearing his throat. It was Sebastian, and he was holding a folded dress. Ciel sighed and shook his head slowly, rubbing his temples. "Great. Let's just get this over with." Ciel told him, standing up slowly. Sebastian nodded and laid down the dress on the bed. It looked... amazing. It was blue and white, and had a pattern along the side which made it incredibly pleasing to view. Ciel blinked at it and scoffed, shaking his head. "You did _not_ make this, did you? This is way too bloody professional!" He scowled, annoyed. Sebastian just shrugged.

"Master Trancy said 'Make sure it looks pretty', so that's what I did young master." Sebastian said, smirking widely. Ciel scowled and shook his head again.

"Bastard. You just want to see me humiliated, don't you?" Ciel retorted quickly, Sebastian just chuckling softly as a response. He put his arms out again as he let his butler change his clothes, not having the effort to do it himself. "God, I'm never going to live this down, am I?" Ciel murmured, as he watched Sebastian pick up the dress.

"Who knows? Maybe master Trancy will be merciful and not taunt you about it." Sebastian laughed quietly, clearly no serious tone behind his voice.

"When pigs fly." Ciel scoffed, wincing as Sebastian put the dress on him. He looked up to the demon, and raised an eyebrow. "How do I look?" Ciel asked, not really wanting an answer. Sebastian chuckled, and nodded slowly.

"Like a girl." Sebastian laughed, before making sure the dress was fitted properly. He also took Ciel's eyepatch, just for extra effect. Ciel gritted his teeth and scowled, shaking his head. He looked down at himself and sighed quietly.

"This is so stupid." Ciel mumbled, looking around the room. "Are you done?" He finally asked, getting impatient now. Sebastian didn't say anything for a few seconds as he tugged on a certain part of the dress, before stepping away.

"Alright, I do believe I am. Should I go fetch master Trancy, or would you like to walk around the manor dressed in such a way?" Sebastian asked, with a large grin on his face. Ciel scoffed and waved him away.

"Just go get him you prick." Ciel demanded, Sebastian bowing and heading out of the room. Ciel looked down at the pretty dress and felt at the soft fabric. It was beautiful, he had to admit. This was nothing like that time, all those years ago though, when he wore a dress to infiltrate that party. Now it felt... much more degrading. Ciel was worried that he looked bad in the dress, and as petty as it sounded, he wanted to look good for Trancy. Ciel didn't want to look a fool, and wanted to impress the other. But he pushed those thoughts to the back of his head and played with his hair as he absentmindedly thought. His face was already a light shade of pink as he was deep in thought. Ciel felt different to the last time, even when Elizabeth saw him and he nearly had his cover blown. Now, he was doing it by request, and for Alois, it just... It just felt different. Not as odd, in a way. Ciel just cleared his throat and waited, putting his arms down by his side and watching the door with a worried expression.

* * *

Alois heard a knock at his door and looked over with a raised eyebrow. "Who is it?" He asked, with a small smile on his face. Was it him? All dressed up? Alois was a little disappointed by the voice that came through the door, but his smile didn't falter.

"Master Trancy, the young master is prepared and ready to show himself to you." Sebastian said, a little muffled through the door. Alois quickly jumped up and lunged for the door, throwing it open with an excited smirk. Sebastian stood there, with a seemingly displeased look on his face.

"Okay, let's go!" Alois demanded, practically bouncing. Sebastian placed a hand on Alois' chest and shook his head slowly as he kneeled down, so he was on a level with Alois. He had demonic eyes again.

"Master Trancy, the younger master is not wearing his eyepatch. That means that this photo must never be shared with anybdoy. Is that understood?" Sebastian asked, his tone a little darker. Alois' eyes lit up, and Sebastian frowned as the boy seemed to pay no attention to his warning.

"He's got the pretty purple eye uncovered too? Alright demon, move it!" Alois demanded, clapping his hands as if to signal for Sebastian to start walking, like a dog. Sebastian's face darkened and he slowly stood up, brooding as he led Alois to Ciel's room. Alois clicked his door shut, before following closely behind the demon. He had to walk fast to keep up with Sebastian's long legs, but didn't really mind. Eventually, they were at the door and Alois bounced on the spot, gesturing for Sebastian to open the door. "Alright, come on, come on!" Alois demanded, gesturing for Sebastian to push the door open. Sebastian smirked a little.

"May I present to you, Earl Ciel Phantomhive." Sebastian chuckled, pushing the door open. Ciel's face was bright red and he was scowling as he heard Sebastian's voice, and Alois' eyes lit up again. He rushed in and looked around Ciel, circling him quickly. Ciel frowned uncomfortably as he felt the other's eyes on him, and looked away a little. Eventually Alois came back around the front and erupted into a giggling fit, Ciel's face flushing red as he frowned.

"St-Stop it! Just take the damn picture!" Ciel ordered, stamping his foot. Alois calmed himself down, shaking his head quickly.

"N-No, you just look... You look, heh, you look great, Ciel." Alois said, inbetween laughs, Ciel's blush not receeding. He folded his arms across his chest and huffed quietly, just shaking his head.

"Just get this over with." Ciel demanded, scowling. Alois stood back a second and his eyes were pretty much shining as they scanned over Ciel.

"You look divine, Ciel. Really. Your eyes, and the dress, and-..." Alois murmured, pulling his phone out slowly. Ciel found his face an even darker shade of red, not expecting to be complimented in such a way, especially not like this. Ciel didn't say anything as Alois lined up a photo, before silence fell upon the room. Alois inched a little closer, still meeting Ciel's gaze. Alois' eyes were wide, and Ciel's were too. Alois was eventually only inches away from the other's face, and there was just pure silence. Neither moved away, but neither moved closer. Ciel found his heart pumping, and his breath a little shaky as he was unsure what to do. Alois found himself moving a little closer, before a voice broke the silence and snapped them both out of their trance-like state.

"Young master, shouldn't we be getting you out of that dress now?" Sebastian asked, his voice disturbing the pleasant silence, and the unique feeling. Ciel suddenly shoved Alois back, knocking him over.

"Respect people's personal space, Trancy." Ciel snarled, seemingly fine again. "Yes, we should. Get out, Trancy." He said, coldly. Alois stared up at the other boy, dazed. He still had a stupid grin on his face, and Ciel scowled at the boy's star-struck expression. "Get OUT!" Ciel shouted, Alois quickly scrambling to his feet and leaving, laughing as he raced out the door.  Ciel watched the door as Sebastian shut it and sighed quietly. Sebastian laughed softly, catching Ciel's expression.

"That was certainly interesting."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sincerely apologise for not uploading any chapters yesterday, I was ill so I ended up pretty much sleeping the entire day. I hope these chapters are good enough, I'm still not feeling my best. But I should be back to normal with the schedule again now! Thank you for reading!


	19. That Butler, Serious

Ciel decided that he wasn't going to sleep that night, and spent most of it brooding. He did stay in his room, but that was mostly to get the alone time. Ciel flicked on the TV in his room and watched it with dull eyes. He wasn't even paying attention. Ciel just wanted something to look at and listen to as he thought. He was sat on the bed, with his knees to his chest, and his arms wrapped around his legs. The night was progressing slowly, but that was more than okay. Ciel really needed some thinking time. He still had a good 24 hours to go. No more work, and a full day with Alois and his family. But now... Now it felt odd. More than odd, in fact. Just... Considering what Sebastian had told him, considering the things he'd found out about Alois, considering his personality, the way he acted now, it all made Ciel feel strange. Like he should've seen something sooner. But, that wasn't truthfully his main concern. No, his main concern was what he wasn't seeing. Because there was still something. Something which gnawed away at Ciel's mind, something that was on the tip of his tongue. But what was it? No matter how long he stared at the pixels on the screen, or how long he listened to the looping ad for a specific type of bloody cloth, Ciel couldn't pinpoint it. He just couldn't bring forth the answer. What was it that he was missing? He had watched Alois. He had observed him. Listened to him. Spoken with him. Shouldn't this be obvious? There was something wrong, Ciel was certain of that. Had Alois found out he was an angel? Ciel entertained that thought for a little while, before brushing it aside. Sure, it was possible, but the evidence just wasn't there. If he figured out he wasn't quite human, even a small sign, he would probably bring that up to Ciel or Sebastian. That wasn't just it though. If Alois found out, would he then be issued some type of directive? Some... Some order, which demands the death of Ciel, demands the death of Sebastian? How would that be delivered? Through omnipotence? Would another angel be sent here? Would Alois just know? Either way, Ciel was still alive. And the previous evening certainly showed no signs of Alois wanting his death... Quite the opposite in fact. Ah yes. That was another thing Ciel had been thinking, over and over until the thought possessed every inch of his mind. Why was Alois obsessed?  Ciel sighed quietly, banging his head gently off his knees as a sign of defeat. The butler seemed to know so much more than him. He seemed to be able to tell what Alois was thinking, what he wanted. What he was going through. But why couldn't Ciel? In truth, Ciel was very close. But he had one shortcoming; He wasn't linking everything together. Ciel viewed everything separatley, as if it was its own event, or thought. He didn't even consider that they could all be linked. Ciel was aware he was at fault, he just knew he was. He knew there was something he wasn't doing, something that could possibly grant him the ability to answer these questions he had, that were playing on repeat in his mind. Ciel wasn't sure at what point of the night it was, whether it was before or after midnight, but he eventually gave up. The thoughts were draining him. But he couldn't allow his burning questions to go unanswered anymore. Ciel took off his eyepatch and tossed it aside, onto the bed. "Sebastian." He mumbled. Ciel didn't have an specific emotion in his voice, as he looked over from the corner of his eye to the door. It clicked open and in walked Sebastian, with a small smirk.

"Yes, young master?" Sebastian asked, raising an eyebrow as he walked over to the side of the bed. "What is it?"

"I need you to talk to me, Sebastian. No more avoiding this subject. I want a serious conversation. And I want answers." Ciel uttered, not taking his eyes from the screen. Sebastian nodded slowly, still that slight tinge of a smirk on his face.

"By all means, young master. What is it you wish to talk about?" Sebastian continued, kneeling down so he was on a level with the other.

"Don't ask questions you already know the answer to." Ciel scowled, stretching his legs out and leaning back a little on the bed. Sebastian chuckled softly, nodding.

"Of course, young master. Intuitive as always." Sebastian laughed quietly. "Well, then again. I suppose if you were a little more so, we wouldn't be in this situation, hm?" He continued, Ciel just looking over with a glare. "Very well. Ask away, and I'll answer to the best of my ability, young master." Sebastian prompted him. Ciel sat back and stared at the butler for a while, not saying anything. He had to choose the right choice of words.

"What can't I figure out about Alois?" Ciel inquired, his voice low and but a whisper. Sebastian viewed the expression on Ciel's face, the worn out, defeated, yet questioning look with a smile.

"There are a few things you can't figure out about Alois. There are a few things I can't figure out about Alois. No matter who it is, you can never expect to know a person entirely. But, that isn't necessarily what you're asking, is it?" Sebastian asked rhetorically. Ciel scoffed under his breath and waited for the answer he wanted. "He isn't stable." Sebastian eventually said. "I've known this for a while. Not long after he moved in, he started showing troubling signs." He continued, Ciel looking over and raising an eyebrow. "It seems as if master Trancy is suffering from many different afflictions, currently. Paranoia, perhaps. Anxiety. Insomnia. Maybe even Schizophrenia. I can't diagnose him with anything, nor can I claim to know exactly what is going on in his mind. But I do know everything that happens in this manor. I am aware of every event that occurs in these rooms, these halls." Sebastian explained, a frown on his face. He brought up his left hand and pointed a finger at Ciel. "And I know how he's been acting. Of course you can't see it, young master. When he's with you, he's fine. He's perfect, in fact. But, don't you find that odd?" Sebastian asked, Ciel thinking about it. "You shared a body once. You fought for control of it. How difficult was that?" 

"Very. Sharing a body is horrendous. You're sometimes a spectator, sometimes in control. You struggle to even think. If feels... It feels as if your mind is mixing with another's. As if you're going crazy. Their thoughts, you can hear them. Their... Their memories." Ciel murmured, as his eyes widened a little. A look of realisation slipped onto his face. "So... He can't deal with the memories?"

"Of course he can't, young master." Sebastian sighed, tapping his chin. "I believe if not for his coping mechanisms, he would've ended his life." He said simply, Ciel blinking.

"It's that bad?" Ciel asked, bewildered. Sebastian nodded.

"Yes. He's lived thirteen, perhaps fourteen years twice. Both were polar opposite lives, barring his brother. Then again, young Luka also passed away in Alois' previous life." Sebastian thought aloud. "That's two entire lives. And each have their own memories, their own personalities to come with them. Imagine having doubt about your own memories, constantly. Being unable to know which is from which life. Which memory you should associate with which you." Sebastian told him, Ciel realising how unstable Alois truly was. "Have you noticed how Alois is kinder? How he acts less entitled, young master?" Sebastian asked, Ciel nodding slowly.

"I have."

"That's thanks to his separate personalities trying to merge. He's trying his hardest to fix, and merge, two colliding minds. By doing that, he's trying to make a new personality, to place Jim and Alois into balance." Sebastian explained, Ciel biting his lip with a small amount of worry growing in his mind. "The way I see it, young master, Alois has two coping mechanisms." He added, his voice calm and low, but his tone wasn't changing from its serious sound. 

"Which are?" Ciel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You and Luka." Sebastian told him, before continuing. "Neither of these are particularly healthy. With Luka, it makes sense. Luka is master Trancy's brother, from both lives. He shares a special bond with the boy. And he is trying his hardest to lean on Luka to keep himself going." He said, before looking away a little. "However. It is reasonable to assume that this isn't working. I'd imagine that every time he looks at Luka, he can't help but see the corpse of him, laying on the ground over 100 years ago. But he won't stop trying to use Luka as a coping mechanism, to make him feel alright. And that will be destroying him slowly." Sebastian clarified. Ciel nodded in agreement. It made sense. "And then, young master... We have you. I believe that you are either going to lead to master Trancy's death, your own or the fixing of Alois." Sebastian told him, his voice cold. Ciel gulped nervously. "Those are the three outcomes I see."

"Explain why." Ciel demanded, his words quick and sharp. Sebastian cleared his throat quietly.

"Well, there's the first one. Master Trancy's death. If you refuse him, reject him, or shun him, he could potentially end his own life. And I wouldn't put it past him. I would not doubt it. Although, I believe Alois can take as much hatred or abuse from you as possible. You can take advantage of that. You could very likely beat him half to death, and he would still crawl back to your feet, like a loyal dog." Sebastian explained, Ciel's eyes widening a little. "But hearing the words he dreads, hearing the words that tell him to leave, or that you don't care, or that you hate him... If you told him those, in a truthful manner, I believe it would bring about the end of Alois' life. I'm not sure if an angel can kill themselves, but I don't doubt he could find a way." Sebastian finished, Ciel watching him.

"The second one." Ciel ordered, wanting to know why he'd die.

"There is, of course, an alternate outcome to his rejection." Sebastian began, chuckling quietly and humourlessly. "Master Trancy could go insane. Truly insane. He could perhaps figure out his power. Fight us. And win. I'm not sure of his strength. But if He specifically designed Alois, I doubt he'd be weak. To fight two demons, one would have to have incredible power. It is possible my life, and your own, would end. Master Trancy would also probably end his own life after murdering us. He'd lose his will to live. And that's the second outcome." He said softly, looking over to Ciel. 

"The third." Ciel croaked, his voice quiet and weak. 

"If I had to assume, this would likely be your preferred outcome. I believe Alois is salvageable. But only just. And only through you. Master Trancy is... He's addicted to you, young master. Enthralled. Perhaps it doesn't show through. But I believe if you walked into his room right now and ordered him to do something, he would. He craves you. His personality, his memories, everything he has is breaking or fragile. Except you. Master Trancy probably spends most of his time alone thinking of you to soothe his mind, and whenever he can, spend time with you. Those times are probably the only times Alois feels in control of his own mind, like he can stop the breaking. But to manipulate him, and to toy with emotionally... That would undoubtly break him. However, to perhaps reciprocate the affection he wants to show to you... Perhaps he could recover." Sebastian finished. Silence fell over the room, and Ciel gulped nervously. He was thinking more. It all made sense now. Everything, every loose connection he had, they were all formed now. The mystery he'd been letting consume him for a few hours was solved. And he felt even worse now. Sebastian stood up slowly, and turned to leave, deciding that they were done. 

"Wh-What about medication?" Ciel asked, desperatley. He wasn't sure if he could do this. And to be told that he was Alois' only chance at recovering was a lot to take in. Perhaps if it was something smaller, he wouldn't care. But now... He couldn't not care. How could he ignore this? Ciel had been alone, truly alone, for over a century. And when the only person he could ever form a relationship comes along, Ciel was solely responsible for breaking his mind by mixing together memories from separate lives. But he was also his only chance. 

"Tell me, young master." Sebastian began, sighing. "What medication is there for a person reborn, struggling with memories from their past life?" He asked, looking over his shoulder. "Anti-depressants, perhaps. But they would be a temporary fix. And I believe medication would have no effect on Alois. Due to his... nature." Sebastian told Ciel, hinting at the angel side of things.

"...I think I knew that anyways." Ciel said quietly. "What... What should I do, Sebastian?!" He asked, desperatley. Sebastian was silent, as he opened the door slowly.

"I can't decide that for you. You have to choose what you wish to do. I dislike Alois. Intently. I would be honestly glad if-"

"Sebastian!" Ciel hissed, annoyed at Sebastian's words. Sebastian laughed softly.

"It seems you don't dislike him, then." Sebastian said quietly, Ciel sighing under his breath. "You should try and sleep, young master. I shall wake you up early. You can make a decision then. The longer you wait... The chance the first or second outcome have of becoming a reality increases." Sebastian finished, before closing the door. He left Ciel in the dark. In more ways than one.


	20. That Butler, Waking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt like I should put a warning here. This chapter will contain self-harm, and graphic descriptions of it. Please don't read if you know you can't handle that.

Ciel blinked his eyes open gently, seeing the light break into the room as the butler opened the curtains. He narrowed his eyes and groaned, rubbing them. "You stayed up too late, young master." Sebastian's voice sounded out. Ciel groaned again, ignoring him. "I've prepared tea. It's Earl Grey." He told Ciel, Ciel raising an eyebrow as he stretched out. "I believe you deserve nice something after the rather emotionally tiring conversation last night." Sebastian murmured, his voice quite serious once more. Ciel nodded and sat up slowly.

"Thank you, Sebastian." He said, quietly. Ciel appreciated the butler, despite how little he showed that. Especially now that the other was bound to him for an eternity. Ciel rubbed his eyes again, his vision clearing up.

"You do not need to thank me. I will be downstairs, if you need me. And you may speak to me about... your decision, if you wish." Sebastian told him, before promptly leaving the room. And thus, Ciel was once again left in silence with his thoughts. He didn't really mind though. Not this time. This time it was... It was good. He needed the silence. And he needed the time alone. Now that Ciel pretty much had everything figured out, he only had two questions left; What was he going to do, and when would Alois figure out he was an angel? Both of these were on his mind, but one more so than the other. The first one. It was taking over Ciel's mind, so much so that he didn't realise how long he was sat thinking. Ciel had slowly taken sips of the tea, before it just ran out. And the next time he looked at the clock, he figured out that he'd been sat in silence, thinking, for two hours. The time had just gone. And Ciel was no closer to reaching a decision. The things running through his mind, the situations he was playing out... It was all so confusing. Just having this stress, this... this hassle dropped directly on top of him was almost too much. Ciel's only friend was a huge risk. Well... Were they friends? Were they close? Ciel didn't know. But, he knew that Sebastian was right. About everything. Everything he said made sense. Everything he'd told Ciel was honest. And Ciel was now contemplating everything. Was he being too harsh with Alois? ...No. That wasn't an issue. The issue was that Alois didn't think Ciel felt the same way. If maybe he had... some type of indication, he would begin to slowly recover. But either way, he wouldn't mind how Ciel acted, just as long as he knew Ciel cared. And those were the lingering thoughts. Eventually, Ciel got out of bed. Okay. He needed to push this aside, because it wasn't working. His mind wasn't damn working, nothing was being processed properly. Ciel just sighed and decided to get dressed. A plain white shirt, long-sleeves. Matching shorts that looked good, that went down to his knees. Knee-high socks, and black, smart-looking shoes. Ciel looked in the mirror, putting on and tying his eyepatch. Ciel looked good enough. He would be fine looking like this. Right now, Ciel's image was the last thing on his mind. He didn't care about it. Perhaps eating would help him gather his thoughts. He hoped.

* * *

Alois let the tears run down his cheeks, not even noticing them really. It was like he was in a daze. Staring at the ceiling. Tired, but unable to sleep. Hurting, but numb. Empty, but his mind was buzzing with thoughts. He heard the door open. It wasn't Ciel. It was the other demon. Alois didn't care. There was silence, and Sebastian looked over to him with... remorse? No, Alois was imagining it. If there were words, Alois didn't hear them. He was too busy focusing on the pattern on the ceiling. The door shut once more, and he was alone again. Alois' head hurt. It felt like it was full. And he felt sick. But he wasn't going to be sick, was he? He'd felt sick since he'd gotten into bed. And nothing had happened. Alois was crying. Why was he crying? He sniffed up, rubbing his eyes, but the tears didn't stop flowing. Oh right. He couldn't sleep. He'd started crying with frustration. And then, he'd just... broken. He collapsed. And now he couldn't stop them. Why did everything hurt? Why was everything wrong? He wanted to live his old life again. Without the family. He wanted to go back and be with Ciel. Go back and be there, with... with Claude. And he could be kinder to Ciel. He could be sweet. He could be gentle. He could give the boy a friend. And maybe more. Alois gasped quietly, his breathing messing up. He couldn't think about this. His head hurt. Why was he alive now? Why was he here? Why? It hurt. He didn't want to hurt, or be here. He wanted Ciel to be happy. Ciel wasn't happy with him here. He was a burden. His family was a burden. Oh god, Alois felt very sick. So sick. He hopped out of his bed, rushing off to the nearest bathroom. He slammed the door shut, before kneeling down by the toilet. He was sick. Alois did throw up. Good. That was good. He deserved to hurt, didn't he? For the horrible things he'd done. For upsetting Ciel. For trying to hurt Ciel. For making it hard for Ciel. For ever bothering him. Alois was nothing more than a burden. To Ciel, to Luka, to everybody. Luka. His sweet brother. So young, and innocent. Dead at five, or six. But he wasn't dead, was he? Luka was older now. He was sleeping right now. And Alois hurt him. Alois was lying to him about who he was. Alois wasn't Jim. Alois was Alois. But... But he wasn't. In both lives... In both of them, he wasn't even born Alois. Alois was made. Alois was unnatural. Alois... Well, Alois should die. Yeah. Yeah, that was right. Alois had to die. Alois wasn't good. Alois just hurt people. Alois just hurt Ciel. Alois just hurt Luka. Jim would do better. But... But not with Alois in his body. Alois had to be cut out. Forced out. Alois could... He could be bled out. Alois wiped his mouth with his forearm and stumbled shakily to his feet, pulling himself up with by grabbing a hold of the sink. Alois continued to breathe shakily, as he reached into the cabinet. Razors. His trembling hand reached forward and took them, gulping nervously. He dropped them multiple times, fumbling about with them and almost slicing his palms and fingers. He was shaking too much. Alois sobbed quietly, his eyes still producing more and more tears, which dropped into the sink, onto the blades and his arms. Fuck. Fuck, he couldn't stop the tears. But that was okay. Everything was going to be okay. Alois was going to leave. And Jim could do better. He could solve this. He could fix his mind. He just had to bleed Alois out, like... Like a disease. Like some sort of... thing. He didn't know. He didn't know how to think of this. Alois gently took the razor blade between his finger and thumb, squeezing it tightly. Which way would he cut? Well, vertical was the way to kill yourself, right? And horizontal was to just injure yourself. Alois exhaled slowly, but the sobbing continued as he pressed it to his wrist. He just needed to injure himself a few times. Alois just had to bleed. He didn't have to die, because then Jim would be gone. And that would make Luka sad. Alois couldn't make Luka sad. Alois pressed it into his skin, squeezing his eyes shut. He had to do it. He had to. Alois dragged it across the wrist, quickly and sharply. A stinging pain. He looked back. Blood spurted out, like a tap had been turned on, and it was flowing. The cut was not neat. It was diagonal slightly, but it did the job. Alois held his hand above the sink, watching the blood just all pour out. He sobbed a little louder, it hurting. But the pain was good. Alois had to be punished for what he was doing. For what he had done. Much to Alois' dismay though, the bleeding stopped. And the... the cut. It just... It just went. It healed itself. Tremendously fast. "No..." Alois whined, in-between quick breaths and the sobbing. He did it again. The same happened it healed. So he did it again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And Alois continued, over and over, cutting more and more. The cuts healed within two seconds, but he could still lose blood quick. Alois furiously, through blurred eyes, continued to slice away at his arm, moving up and down the wrist and crying out every time another cut was made. But he didn't stop. Alois had to cut it all away. He had to lose the blood. He didn't know why something was stopping him. Why couldn't he bleed? Alois eventually stopped cutting his wrist. His arm, his hands... They were covered in dried, congealed blood. Alois felt sick, looking at it all. All over the sink, all over his arms. All over his shirt. His hands. The blade. Alois continued to sob, but it was much louder now. He leaned on the sink. He felt ill. Dizzy. Woozy from the loss of blood. But he didn't care. Alois tried his hardest to stop himself and stifle his cries, but he just... He just couldn't. This was too much now. What was he doing? Why was he over a sink, with a bloody razor blade in his hand, at the verge of taking his own life? Why was... Why he so fucked up?! Why did he feel like he couldn't control his own mind?! Alois continued to sob, clenching his hands into fists and cutting the inside of his hand. But something different happened. His hand didn't stop bleeding. Because the razor blade was still holding it open. Alois' sobs quietened down, but he didn't quite stop. This was good. Alois took it from his hand. He knew how to do it now. He knew how to bleed out. How to fix himself. Alois pressed the razor very delicatley to his bloodied, yet unmarked wrist. However, his felt something. A hand. Alois looked down to his arms. A hand, on his wrist. Holding it.

"No, Alois." A voice murmured. It was distant. But it was there. Alois' cheeks were wet with tears, but somebody dried them. Alois looked to his side. Ciel. Oh god, Ciel was seeing him like this. But it was okay. Alois suddenly felt better. He felt great, in fact. Alois tossed the razor blade into the sink and was suddenly beaming. He didn't feel sick. He didn't need to feel sick. Ciel was here. And he was going to solve all of Alois' problems. He was going to fix it. Alois smiled widely.

"Ciel! Just hold on, and I'll be right out. Let me... Let me clean myself up." Alois told Ciel, in a cheery voice. Ciel's hands were suddenly on Alois' shoulders, and he was spun to face him. Ciel was frowning, and shook his head adamantly.

"No, Alois." Ciel repeated, his voice a little louder. Alois' smile faltered, but he chuckled nervously.

"Um... Ciel?" Alois asked, quietly.

"Don't do this. Don't be like this. Tell me." Ciel demanded, Alois' smile gone. His eyes teared up.

"I'm... I'm scared, Ciel!" Alois sobbed, burying his face in the other boy's shirt quickly. He wrapped his arms around Ciel. Ciel frowned, uncomfortable, but didn't shove him away for once. "I'm so frightened! I can't control my own mind, my own feelings... I-I don't want to be here anymore Ciel! I don't want to live like this!" Alois sobbed, his words muffled. He could barely speak, unable to get his words out due to lack of breath. "The only time I... I feel good is around you! I can be both around you! I can feel like my mind is okay. I..." Alois cried out, clutching onto him tightly. Ciel let go of his shoulders and sighed silently, relaxing a little. He began to run his fingers through the boy's hair, trying to calm him. "I love you, Ciel. I need you. I need to be here, I need to be here with you!" Alois said, almost like begging in-between gasps and cries. Ciel's eyes widened a little at such... meaningful words. He nodded slowly.

"I know you do." Ciel murmured, continuing to stroke his hair. "I think I've known that a while. But don't worry, Alois." Ciel told him, remembering to use his first name. He didn't want to kick the other away. He wanted to cry himself, and wrap his arms around the boy and reassure him. But he didn't. He still had his dignity, and his pride. Even seeing Alois like this, he couldn't change too much. So, this was as sentimental as he would be. But it still caused Alois to look up at him with shock, his eyes sparkling with the water reflecting the light, and the hope in them. He was so happy that Ciel was being so kind. "You aren't going anywhere. I'm not going anywhere. So. Let's get your arms cleaned up." Ciel finished, Alois pulling away. They ran the water in silence, plugging the drain and filling the sink. Ciel helped Alois, knowing he couldn't see well because of how much he was still crying. He didn't mind the quiet sobbing. And Alois was smiling as Ciel stood there and helped. He was happy. He had faith things could change. Ciel had a concentrated look on his face as he washed away the blood, but he was thinking. How could he figure out these feelings? How could he act on them? Ciel knew he had to speak to Sebastian about it, but for now, this... This was good. The only noise being Alois' happy sobs and the water splashing a little, as Ciel ran it over Alois' bloody, yet uncut arms. That was worrying. Alois would bring that up. It was because he was an angel, Ciel knew that. But Alois didn't. And he shouldn't. Not if he was going to recover. And he would. Ciel would make sure he got the outcome he wanted. No matter what he had to do for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope these chapters can make up for my absence, I apologise! Although, I do feel much better now, so you can expect chapters tomorrow (for real this time). I'm back to full health, pretty much, so I should be good to continue writing! Thanks for reading!


	21. That Butler, Therapeutic

Eventually, Alois left the bathroom with Ciel holding onto his shoulder. He appreciated the sentiment, but he wasn't goung to run off, or do anything stupid. Not now Ciel was here. He gulped nervously and Ciel turned to him, stopping him. "Trancy, go get changed. You can throw out those pyjamas, they've got blood on them." He told him, gesturing for the other to leave. Alois bit his lip and hesitated, shaking his head slowly.

"Uhm... Ciel?" Alois began, Ciel raising an eyebrow. "When I... When I cut myself, they... They healed, Ciel. I mean... I mean, they healed fast. Why Ciel?" He asked, his voice a quiet, confused whine. Alois frowned, thinking Ciel would have an answer for him. Well... He did, but he didn't want to say it.

"We'll talk about it downstairs, Trancy. Go get changed." Ciel responded coldly, leaving Alois baffled. Alois made a 'hm' noise as he turned and begun to head to his room. He knew that Ciel knew something. And this wasn't just his frail mind talking either, Ciel seemed to be hiding something from Alois. He made his way quickly through the halls, trying not to linger on it. The thoughts may only distract him. And right now, he was feeling on a high note. Alois felt great. He was going to get better. Ciel was going to help him wasn't he? And Ciel was so sweet. Washing the blood off, stopping Alois. He was so kind, so gentle. Staying with Alois as he got the blood off, and letting him cry... Alois found himself blushing a little, and covering the bottom half of his face with a scrunched up shirt. Alois sighed quietly, happily. Just being around Ciel gave him this warm fuzzy feeling, and it made the bad thoughts go away. But they weren't really gone. Alois knew that. They were just...perfectly hidden. Until the image of Ciel began to fade from his mind. And then the problems, and all the bad thoughts were staring him right in the face once more. And Alois disliked that. He wanted there to be a time when he could stop thinking about Ciel and then the bad thoughts would go away, forever. As much as he cared about Ciel, it would be nice to be... normal. As Alois got changed, he felt this really unsettling feeling rise in his stomach. Like something that he didn't know about was coming to a climax. But Alois ignored it. He continued get dressed, and looked down himself. Alois looked good. Similar shorts to Ciel's, except a little shorter and similar socks and shoes. However, Alois wore a white shirt and a purple jacket over it, chuckling quietly as he dashed out of the room. Right now, he didn't really mind the feeling of dread. He could cover it up, for now. Alois knew it wasn't a healthy way to deal with problems, but it was the only way he knew how. Alois hurried down the stairs, befor eventually finding Sebastian and Ciel in one of the sitting rooms. Ciel and Sebastian were both sat on a sofa, watching the door. Alois blinked, not used to seeing the tall butler seated.

"What's... What's going on?" Alois asked, chuckling nervously. Ciel gestured to the armchair across from him.

"Take a seat Trancy. Relax. Because we need to speak." Ciel told him, a grave look in his face. Alois' eyes widened a little as he dropped down into the seat and he placed his hands together nervously.

"Oh god, what've I done wrong Ciel? Did I upset you whilst I was speaking? Did... Did I do something that I forgot?! Whatever it is, I'm sorry-" Alois already spat out wildely, not caring what he'd done so long as he hadn't upset Ciel. Ciel's eye widened a little as he sighed and shook his head.

"No, you moron." Ciel sighed, his tone gentler than before, but still scowling. "It's about your wrists, and why they healed so fast." Ciel began, Alois nodding hastily and sitting forward on the edge of his seat.

"Okay, go on." He told Ciel, almost like a demand. Alois was curious and he wanted... No, he needed to know. But there was something he didn't expect. Sebastian was the one to start speaking.

"Master Trancy, you must understand that these are odd circumstances. What I'm about to tell you is... bizzare, as far as things go. And I must ask that you maintain a level-head as I speak with you. You must promise me to not panic. Say it." Sebastian demanded, his demonic eyes glaring into Alois'. Alois was too weak-willed at the moment to fight back with his attitude, and noddded slowly.

"I promise I'll stay calm, Sebastian." Alois said softly. Ciel looked over to Sebastian and nodded curtly, wanting him to continue.

"Master Trancy, listen to me. You are not human." Sebastian began, his eyes showing no hint of a joke. Alois shifted uncomfortably.

"Am I... Am I a demon, like you two? Is that why I'm back?" Alois asked, his eyes widening a little. Sebastian and Ciel shared a look, before shaking their heads.

"No, not quite." Sebastian chuckled under his breath. "Master Trancy. You are an angel. Created by God himself, and sent here to this Earth." He explained. Alois' eyes widnened, shocked.

"Are you.. Are you s-serious?" Alois gasped, quite excited. It sounded interesting, and quite cool. But, he didn't understand. "Um... Why would God send me to Earth? For what purpose?" He asked, biting his lip. Ciel looked over to Sebastian.

"The truth." Ciel nodded, gesturing for him to tell Alois. Sebastian blinked, confused as to how this would help. But Ciel gestured to Alois once more.

"Well, master Trancy... You were created with the sole purpose of ending the young master's life, and likely my own." Sebastian explained, sighing quietly. Alois shook his head adamantly, and crossing his arms over his chest.

"No. I'm not going to do that. I refuse." Alois demanded, stamping his foot. Sebastian blinked, raising an eyebrow. "I won't hurt Ciel. I'll never hurt him. Not again, anyways." Alois explained, angered. He looked away a little. "Whatever He was thinking when He made me, well... He can piss off. He might've given me life, but I get to decide what I do with it. And that won't be killing you, Ciel." Alois promised. Sebastian was a little shocked that an angel had just completely denounced their maker,  but Ciel just chuckled quietly.

"That's good then!" Ciel laughed, before drumming his fingers on the arm of the sofa. He threw his head back and sighed contently. Ciel would be hapy with this. And he could maybe, without hurting Alois, take advantage of it. Whilst he was willing to open up to the other boy, he had to admit, it'd be quite hot if he was degrading the other, like a servant or a slave. Ciel quickly shook his head. No, he didn't mean hot. He meant... entertaining.

He hoped he meant entertaining

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I apologise, but there won't be a second chapter today. It took me a good 4/5 hours to write this small amount due to how busy I've been today. Perhaps I'll try to do 3 chapters tomorrow, to make up for it, but I'm not gonna make any promises. Anyways, have a good day! Oh and I'm aware of the lack of reaction on Alois' part here. But don't worry, next chapter will focus on that.


	22. Apology

I'll keep this short, I don't want to bore anybody. So, as you can tell, my updates on this have been... inconsistent, to say the least. That is because of a variety of stuff which I don't plan on getting into, but mostly stress and illness. Whilst not ill anymore, I am still stressed. And for the next week, I don't think I'll have a lot of spare time.

So, for the next week, I plan on taking a short hiatus. Only for one week. I will be writing down in a text document any ideas I have for this fic, as well as still reading and responding to comments. But I will not be uploading a chapter until next Monday. Although, next Monday, I will have chapters prepared, and I can begin my schedule again. This hiatus is just so I can deal with other stuff, and not get burned out whilst writing this. Thanks for reading so far, I'm amazed at the feedback. Again, I'll be active in the comments, so if you need me, you know where to go.

In summary, the next chapters will be uploaded Monday 25th June.


	23. That Butler, Discussing

Alois sat in something comparable to a stunned silence, but he had a large smile on his face. He was contemplating all the things he could maybe do as an angel. The entire 'killing Ciel' part was bullshit. Of course Alois wouldn't lift a finger to hurt Ciel. Not... voluntarily, anyways. Not anymore. Eventually, after a few minutes of silence, he spoke. Alois had bright, sparkly eyes. "Can I-?" Alois began, before Sebastian interrupted him.

"No. You cannot fly." Sebastian answered, before Alois even asked it. Alois huffed quietly and leaned on the armrest, sticking his tongue out at Sebastian. "Probably." Sebastian added, with a small smirk, which made Alois' eyes light up. "But I don't see any wings. And I doubt you're just gonna start growing any now you know, or that some are going to burst out you back." He told Alois, his words simple, but Alois didn't listen. All he heard was 'probably'. That meant there was a chance.

"I can regenerate quickly, right? But I can still get hurt?" Alois confirmed, Ciel nodded slowly.

"Observe." Ciel demanded, catching Alois' attention. Ciel grabbed a large dagger that was hidden in the corner of the room, before heading back over. He took the dagger and slit his own palm open, badly. Alois' eyes widened, but Ciel shushed him. The blood was black. And it fell out quickly, but stopped after a few seconds. The wound was gone, all that remained was a bloody dagger, a bloody palm and a bloody floor. But no wound.

"You too?" Alois asked, tilting his head a little. Ciel nodded, but then cut his hand again. This time, it didn't heal. It kept bleeding. Until it healed a few seconds late. "Wh-What was that?" Alois questioned, a worried look in his eyes. Sebastian passed Ciel a cloth, and he dried his hands, waving Alois away.

"You can control it, when you want to. Otherwise, it'll happen automatically." Ciel explained, before smirking a little. "And it won't work with big injuries. Like... If you got a sword through your side." He laughed, Alois narrowing his eyes and folding his arms.

"Yeah, Ciel, I get it." He murmured, annoyed. Alois looked back up slowly, between them all. "I think I've just realised how insane this is." Alois uttered, nodding slowly with a far-off look in his eyes. "You'd think I'd be the demon." Alois added, Ciel laughing quietly, nodding.

"Yeah, well, it doesn't really make a difference. Good demons, bad demons. Good angels, bad angels. Each race has their own members, who define themselves. But I will admit, I never saw you becoming an angel." Ciel admitted, before thinking a moment. He looked around the room. "Where do we go from here?" Ciel eventually asked, looking back over to the other boy. Alois raised an eyebrow.

"Where we've been going. Just, along for the ride. That's all." Alois said, his voice quiet. Ciel scoffed, harshly.

"Don't be an idiot." Ciel mumbled, shaking his head slowly. "I'm a demon. You're an angel, specifically sent to kill me. We don't go anywhere from here, do we?" Ciel retorted, seemingly out of nowhere. He was fine a moment ago. But now... Now there was sadness in his eyes. A pain. A realisation of the truth. "It's you. Or it's me." Ciel added, snapping Alois back to reality. Alois felt a sting in his chest. Those words hurt. Bad. His vision went a little blurry. Alois bit his lip.

"It-It's not like that, I swear!" Alois exclaimed, tears welling up his eyes, his bottom lip quivering despite his attempts to prevent it. Ciel watched him, but not with his usual cold eyes. With compassionate ones, for once.

"My nature is to continue living. No matter what. And however I look at it, I realise something. You are to put a stop to that nature." Ciel told Alois, Alois shaking his head quickly, over and over. There was a wild, crazed look in eyes that grew by the second. "And I cannot have that. No matter who you are. Or what you are trying to become." Ciel whispered, his voice almost silent. Sebastian looked over to Ciel, with his demon eyes. And then, over to Alois.

"C-Ciel... You're... You're breaking my heart." Alois gasped, his eyes wide, as tears began to roll down his cheeks. Ciel looked away, with a closed eye. He couldn't stand the sight. "I wouldn't do anything to hurt you. I-I promised you. I'm here to repent for what I did in the past, and-"

"You are here to kill me!" Ciel screamed, taking his eyepatch off. He was such an idiot. Letting his emotions getting in the way of things. Sebastian was right. He was always right. Ciel was a demon. Emotions were a weakness he didn't need. Friends were a weakness he didn't need. People he cared about were a weakness he didn't need. "Sebastian." Ciel began, looking at Alois with a calm, collected face. Alois shook his head quickly, his voice breaking as he stood up.

"N-No. No. Ciel, what-what changed? I thought I-I was being forgiven. I-I thought.... I th-thought you trusted me." Alois blabbered, Ciel's eyes twitching a little, threatening to break that calm demeanour.

"I have had a moment of realisation. And it is, that you are a threat, no matter which way I put it. Sooner or later, you will attack. And you could put an end to my existence. Which I refuse to allow to happen." Ciel told Alois. Alois sobbed loudly approaching slowly. Sebastian's hand tightened around the dagger.

"M-My family! You brought them here! To live here! My brother!" Alois exclaimed quickly, soon enough, face-to-face with Ciel. "And now you're going to kill me, under the same roof as them?!" He shouted, his face red and glistening from the tears. Alois grabbed Ciel's shirt, Ciel not moving or flinching. "Ciel.... Ciel.... C-Ciel... C... Ciel. You're all I want. You're all I need. You're everything I need. I can't die like this. I don't want to die by your hand. I want to die knowing that you care about me. I-I..." Alois trailed off, Ciel's face faltering a little. Who the hell was he kidding? He couldn't kill this idiot. Even if it meant he had to live under the same roof as his future assassin, he couldn't kill him, could he? He'd already made an attachment. Like naming an animal you had to put to slaughter. Well... Ciel wished it was as simple as that.

"Alois." Ciel whispered, grabbing his wrists. Alois looked up, looking Ciel in the eyes. And he felt the other press against his lips. Alois' eyes widened, but they slowly flickered shut. It wasn't a very romantic kiss, not with how much Alois had cried, but Ciel didn't move away for a few seconds. Sebastian just looked on in disbelief.

"Hormones." Sebastian scoffed, taking the dagger and cleaning up Ciel's blood from earlier.

* * *

Alois sat with Ciel in his room, silent for now. He didn't really know what to say to him. Alois was just in shock, but in a very happy position currently. His head resting on Ciel's chest, laid on his bed, in his room with the both of them silent, as Ciel played with Alois' hair. It was heaven. And Alois didn't want it to stop. What happened earlier was a nightmare, and now he was in a dream. The nightmare was over for now, but it wasn't the sort of nightmare to go away forever. It'd come back. Alois had to find some way, any way, to prove to Ciel that he wouldn't kill him. Or try to harm him. But, that'd be hard to do. That wouldn't stop him though. Nothing would stop Alois from this. Nothing. He had Ciel in his grasp. Ciel had kissed him. He could maybe get somewhere with the other boy. But not if he was afraid of being murdered by Alois. That seemed to be kind of a dealbreaker. But Alois didn't plan on breaking the wonderful silence of the dream-like moment. Maybe Ciel had taken pity on Alois. That's why he'd just walked up to Alois' room and held him whilst he cried. Or... Maybe he wanted to? Maybe he felt back? Maybe Ciel didn't want to kill him for real, and really cared? It was hard to be insecure when the other boy's gentle hands were running through Alois' soft hair. Ciel sat back, thinking. This was... pleasant, he'd admit it. But, Ciel felt guilty. Alois had gotten into such a state earlier, after only a few seconds. Ciel had caused t, and he didn't want to see Alois like that again. He'd force away those thoughts of his. The rational ones. Telling him to kill the boy in his sleep, telling him to kill Alois before he got any stronger. Ciel wouldn't do it. Alois vowed not to hurt him. Ciel could believe that, right? He looked down to the blond boy's head, which faced away from him. "Are you awake, Alois?" Ciel asked, his voice quiet.

"Mmhm." Came a response from Alois. He sounded tired though. Was what Ciel was doing making him tired? The thought made him smile a little, before continuing.

"I apologise for my earlier behaviour. Both in scaring you and... Kissing you without your permission." Ciel spoke, his face a little red. Alois just laughed quietly and weakly.

"Do you really think I'd be upset over the kiss?" Alois asked rhetorically, knowing Ciel knew the answer. Ciel just blushed a little darker, Alois propping himself up. He turned his head and looked the other in his eyes. Ciel looked back. There was a silence for a few seconds, like a tension in the air. Before Alois stuck his tongue out a little, with a wink. "Do it again." Alois demanded, a smile on his face. Ciel didn't need any other inspiration. He obeyed like an obedient puppy, doing what Alois told him. He closed his eyes slowly, bringing a hand up and cupping the boy's cheek, before pressing their lips sweetly together again. Alois' eyes fluttered shut slowly, still a little surprised with Ciel actually doing as he said. Alois had never really kissed anybody. Not consensually, anyways. When the old man had him, he used to force his rancid tongue down Alois' throat all the time. But with this... It was gentle. Slow. Experimental. Sweet. Neither of them really knew what they were doing. But they did it anyways. And it was at their own pace. Alois was ecstatic. He couldn't ask for a better night. Eventually, they both broke away for a breath, both of them panting lightly. Ciel still held Alois' cheek.

"Was... Was that satisfactory?" Ciel murmured, a little flustered, but generally feeling the same way as Alois. It was clear he had no idea what to say, but Alois laughed softly.

"It was amazing." Alois nodded, before kissing the other's cheek gently. "Ciel, stay with me tonight." He asked him, touching a hand to the boy's face. Ciel's face instantly shot to be a dark red.

"Wh-What?! Are you sure we should... I mean... Already?" Ciel asked, embarrassed. Alois tilted his head, a little confused, before bursting out giggling.

"Noooo, you idiot." Alois said playfully. "I mean just sleep." He reassured him, before looking away a little. "Although, I think it's amusing that you'd instantly jump to that...~" Alois purred, looking back up a little at Ciel's flushed face.

"Shut up..." Ciel mumbled, embarrassed. He went silent a moment, before nodding. "Let me go get some clothes. And I'll be right back." Ciel continued, still clearly nervous. Alois nodded and watched him stand up and leave the room, before dropping down onto the bed. Alois was in heaven. This was heaven.

* * *

Sebastian walked around the manor, opening the curtains. Day was just starting to break. Of course, he couldn't wake his young master though. No, because Ciel ordered Sebastian to let him sleep in. With Alois. Sebastian sighed quietly. What was that boy thinking? Sleeping beside his... former enemy, and probably future enemy. Then again, Sebastian had a few personal opinions on the matter. Sebastian, a demon, hated to admit it, but... He had formed an attachment, hadn't he? Ever since he found out that he'd be stuck with Ciel for eternity, he had let his emotions get involved. He had let himself care about Ciel more than just... prey. He was close with his young master now. And even though he did blame Trancy for having to miss his meal, it wasn't... A bad thing, necessarily. Without Alois, Sebastian could've never gotten this close to Ciel. Maybe it was wrong of him, but... Sebastian viewed Ciel as the little demon child he never had. The one he could model, and shape. Into a true demon. And despite his STRONG dislike for Trancy, he couldn't help but be a little grateful. Ciel had been smiling more. He'd been happy. Excited. All thanks to Alois. And, as Ciel's closest father figure, Sebastian was happy when Ciel was happy. It was stupid to be like this, as a demon. But, to be fair... He was stuck with his young master for an eternity. His emotions weren't necessarily the worst thing to crack through. Sebastian continued through the manor, but now with a small smile on his face. Alois was going to help Ciel. He was going to make him happy. As long as he didn't kill him first, that is. But, Sebastian had found the blond boy growing on him. Only slightly, and in the way a pet would, nothing more. But... Sebastian supposed he wasn't the worse being in the world. He eventually heard three knocks at the door, and frowned as he looked towards the staircase, heading down to answer the door. "It's 5am... Who could be here at this hour?" Sebastian murmured, before reaching the door and opening it. There were three men stood there, who didn't seem to be much older than 20, maybe. But Sebastian narrowed his eyes. "Haven't I killed you three before?" Sebastian hissed, his voice quiet and with malice in it. In front of his, were three purple-haired triplets. But not in clothes of service. They were identical, all the way down to their clothes. They were wearing sunglasses, a casual shirt, jeans and sneakers. And they looked displeased. Very displeased. "And shouldn't you be wearing suits or something?" Sebastian continued, but one of them shook their heads. And... spoke? Sebastian had never heard them openly speak before. Didn't Alois order against that?

"Nah. We couldn't be arsed." One said, with a shrug. Sebastian sighed.

"I see why master Trancy ordered you to silence." Sebastian growled, annoyed at the demon's vulgarity. This was going to be a long day.


	24. That Butler, Meeting

Sebastian rubbed his temples, annoyed. Why were things never simple? Never easy? "Tell me your names." Sebstian demanded. All three spoke at once, forming some amalgamation of their names. Sebastian just stared in silence for a few seconds, the Triplets looking back with confusion on their face at his annoyance. "Tell me your names... Individually." Sebastian specified, sighing quietly.

"I'm Thompson." One said quickly, eager to answer before the others.

"Timber." Another added, simply.

"And I'm Cantebury." Cantebury told Sebastian, all three staring at him. Sebastian looked at them. As far as demons went, they weren't strong. They couldn't best Sebastian, so he wasn't cautious. Sebastian stepped aside, letting them walk in.

"Wow, what a boring manor." Timber declared, whilst he looked around. Thompson nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. Maybe Alois was a poof, but at least he knew how to add colour." Thompson murmured, Sebastian's eye twitching a little. God, they were annoying.

"What..." Sebastian began, shutting the door and putting hands on both of their shoulders, with a pissed look on his face. "...Is it that you've come here for?" He finished his sentence. Cantebury walked a little bit ahead, looking around.

"Alois ain't dead, is he? We're still bound to... it."  Cantebury told Sebastian, with a snicker. Sebastian shook his head quickly.

"Absolutley not. You will not remain here, and you shall leave at once." Sebastian demanded, growling.

"You're so old, ain't you? You're like- what- two thousand?" Timber asked, poking him in the chest. The other two just ignored Sebastian and kept on walking around and exploring. Sebastian grabbed his hand, a blood vessel about ready to burst.

"Master Trancy has a family now. A brother. Parents. They live here too, and know him as Jim Macken. You cannot serve Alois." Sebastian explained, the Triplets just shrugging in unison.

"More the merrier, I guess." Cantebury murmured.

"You think the mum is a MILF?" Thompson asked, casually. Timber shook his head.

"Nah. It'll just be an older, female Alois. Slutty, stupid and annoying." Timber laughed, the other two chuckling as well. Sebastian blinked, a little shocked.

"You three may act like servants, but you know nothing about how to behave like them. You're just demons. Uncultured, annoying, incessant demons." Sebastian growled, annoyed. The Triplets shrugged again.

"Your point?" Cantebury responded, Thompson turning to Sebastian.

"Have you got a thing for Ciel, like Claude did?" Thompson asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's fucked up." Timber stated, Sebastian's anger rising by the second.

"No. I do not have a... 'thing' for my young master. And why are you speaking at all? Shouldn't you be whispering or something?" Sebastian asked, finding the other three demons to be incredibly infuriating.

"Alois died. His orders were null and void." Cantebury answered first.

"And then we found out his soul was back on Earth. We were in servitude again. Followed it here." Thompson continued.

"We were overjoyed." Timber finished, the sarcasm more than present in his voice. Sebastian frowned, shaking his head slowly.

"Look. Alois is currently sleeping. I'm sure you can have a conversation with him later." Sebastian began. "But for now, be quiet. Come with me and we can talk about this." Sebastian ordered them, before leading them into a sitting room. The Triplets shared a look, before shrugging.

* * *

Alois could hear birds chirping. That was the first thing that registered in his head. He bit his lip, stretching out slowly. So warm was on him. Ciel. The boy's head was on his chest now, and his arms were wrapped around Alois, along with his legs being intertwined with Alois'. Alois relaxed a little, looking down to the boy's blue hair and deciding he was gonna stroke it. He ran his hands through it slowly, Ciel stirring a little. "Mmm..." Ciel murmured, squeezing the thing he was holding onto a little harder. Alois giggled quietly, continuing to stroke.

"Good morning, Ciel..." Alois whispered, Ciel nuzzling his chest a little as he stirred and woke up.

"Alois?" Ciel said, through a yawn. "Am I hugging you?" Ciel mumbled, barely awake, with his eyes still closed.

"Mmhm. You don't have to move though. It's nice." Alois told him, the birds being louder than the two boys. The silence resumed, and the two of them just relaxed for a few minutes, until Ciel spoke.

"This is nice." He admitted, his voice quiet and soft. Alois giggled quietly.

"It is." Alois stated simply, agreeing. This was sweet. He'd never experienced something like this, and it made it even better that the one with him was actually Ciel. Alois felt like he'd dreamed about this exact scenario before. And here it was. Happening. Alois let out a small, happy sigh. "It's perfect." He whispered, before beginning to sit up a little. Ciel, without realising, moved his head down a little, rolling over so it was in Alois' lap. Alois' eyes widened and he gulped nervously. Alois was a teenage boy, and he'd only just woken up... He grabbed Ciel quickly and moved him away, jolting him awake.

"Huh?! What's wrong?" Ciel asked, shocked, as Alois held him by the shoulders.

"N-Nothing! I just think we should get up, is a-all." Alois lied, his face a little red. Ciel narrowed his eyes and nodded slowly, stretching out.

"Very well." Ciel agreed, before watching Alois, who didn't move. "Well? Are you gonna get up?" Ciel asked, getting out of bed.

"Y-Yeah! Just give me a second... In fact, just... Go get changed in your room." Alois asked, his face red. A look of realisation came onto Ciel's face and he burst out laughing.

"Okay, o-..." Ciel began, but couldn't get any words out through laughter. Alois buried his face in his hands, blushing bright red. "I'm- I'm going!" Ciel told him, giggling as he left. Alois bit his lip, his face still buried in his hands. That was embarrassing... He'd get Ciel back for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, the hiatus is over! Two chapters a day again! I thought I'd begin by introducing a new character (Or rather three). Obviously there isn't much about the Triplets, but hey, I think they could be interesting characters. Thanks for waiting all week, and thanks for reading!


	25. That Butler, Frustrated

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jesus, well, so much for consistency. I've been pretty busy with some personal stuff, and this year has not been the best, so my time has been taken up. However, this isn't abandoned. I promised I wasn't gonna abandon it and I haven't! However, I won't make anymore promises on uploads. I will T R Y to get at least one out every other day, but don't be too surprised if there's a day or two where I fuck that up. This isn't gonna go on much longer, I feel like it's nearing a halfway/three-quarter point. And, I have other ideas, which I'm more motivated to focus on! So, this is gonna continue until its end, and then I'll start planning out another. Alright, well, enjoy the chapter! I'm writing this before I even begin, so I have no idea how long it'll be/what it will contain. Either way, have a little patience; I'm kinda rusty.

Sebastian slammed shut the sitting room doors, anger brewing inside him like a storm. These three nuisances had come into his master's clean home and practically dirtied it. With their foul mouths and annoying habits. Sebastian had to keep his cool though, he should not lose his temper. A butler was always dignified, after all. Sebastian was stronger than these three combined; There was no threat to himself or Ciel from these brats. However, that didn't mean they weren't annoying. Sebastian turned and headed over to the leather sofa, opposite the one the other three had picked. "Now. May I inquire as to why, and please let this be good, you have decided it was crucial you came back to bother Master Trancy, and in turn my master?" Sebastian questioned, closing his eyes and inhaling slowly. Canterbury began to scratch at the leather of the sofa, slightly tearing it. Thompson looked around absent-mindedly, judging and looking at the artworks. Timber was the only one paying slight attention.

"Well, we're bound to him, innit?" Timber said. His shrill voice and annoying vocabularly pierced Sebastian like a nice, and his eyebrow twitched a little.

"To my understanding," Sebastian began, through gritted teeth. "You were bound to Hannah, Master Trancy's maid." Sebastian pointed out, slightly confused.

"Not exactly. When Miss Hannah brought us to the Master, she told us sumthin'. She gave us a task, right? And it was to serve 'im. Now, Miss Hannah is somewhat of a perfectonist. She makes us complete every task to a T, making sure we do everything she asked. She's quite the dominant one, actually. You know, one time-" Timber began to get off-topic, Sebastian clearing his throat loudly. "Right. Well, since the little shit came back, our task isn't complete. So, we gotta finish the task." Timber explained, with a shrug.

"And will the maid be returning too?" Sebastian asked, slightly concerned. He didn't want to have to deal with one demon, let alone four. If it got to that, he would have to ask Ciel to consider removing Alois and his family from the manor.

"Nah, she's busy. Hannah got a new contract with this American kid, and she sent us back when she sensed him. Then again, I always thought she fancied the brat." Timber pointed out.

"She must be crazy." Canterbury added, suddenly pointed out.

"At least she's got nice tits." Thompson interjected, the other two nodding in agreement. Sebastian's teeth gritted harder together in anger.

"Stay on the subject!" Sebastian reprimanded them, raising his voice slightly. The three looked back towards him. "Now. Why would you come here, to the domain of a demon, knowing full-well the risk to yourselves?" He continued on, interrogating them. The three shared a look, and a grin, before Canterbury spoke up.

"As if we're scared of you!" Canterbury laughed, Sebastian's face falling a little.

"Yeah, you're like a fancy guard dog. All polished and shit, meant to protect your master, but you can't even go for a piss without his permisson." Thompson continued for Canterbury, chuckling. Sebastian's eyebrow twitched again, a little more violently this time. "You're just bark without him to order you around."

"Maybe so, but you three are still demons. And a potential threat. What's to say I wouldn't kill you the moment I saw you, to protect the master?" Sebastian asked, before the three broke into laughter.

"What a stupid question!" Timber cackled, Sebastian's fury growing inside him.

"Listen, I think your head's way too far up your own ass. We might be a threat, but at the moment, you're letting an even bigger threat sleep in the same house as your master." Canterbury chuckled, shaking his head. Sebastian's eyes widened a little.

"What do you mean by that?" Sebastian questioned, wondering if they knew something he didn't.

"He's a bloody angel! What kinda idiot demon allows an angel near their master?" Thompson pointed out the obvious.

"Please. Master Trancy is much too obsessed to do anything foolish. And scared." Sebastian countered, their laughter stopping.

"Obsessed?" Timber echoed.

"He's got a thing for Ciel then?" Thompson murmured.

"Obsession isn't a good thing." Canterbury stated, slightly seriously.

"How so?" Sebastian asked, slightly calmer.

"He was obsessed with Claude; That got him killed." Timber frowned.

"The brat hasn't got a clean background either. Plenty of things that'd give him a shit-ton of mental issues. All Ciel would have to do is touch him wrong, and then he'd get a flashback or some shit." Canterbury told Sebastian, Sebastian beginning to hear alarm bells ringing out in his head.

"The kid's a wreck. Well, he was over a century ago. Now he's got two personalities." Thompson uttered.

"I'm aware of how dangerous Master Trancy can be. I'm also well aware of how damaged he currently is; The young master experienced that first-hand. However, we are trying to resolve that." Sebastian explained to them, before rubbing his temples. "Must you persist on bothering us?" He added on, before shrugging.

"Take it up with Miss Hannah, man. As if we wanted to do this." Canterbury retorted, Sebastian just shaking his head slowly.

* * *

Ciel still had a slight smile on his face from his earlier interaction with Alois. That was humourous, and the first time he'd genuinely laughed like that in a long time. He had just gotten changed into some pretty similar clothes to the ones he wore yesterday; But now he wore a blue jacket over his white shirt. It felt colder today, so he wanted something nice and warm. Ciel could just hear slight talking from downstairs. Were Alois' family awake? He couldn't make out the words of course; The manor was much too big, and he didn't have super-human hearing. Ciel hadn't quite mastered that yet, Sebastian told him it was possible though. Ciel was certain it was enhanced anyways; He could hear better than he could before. He yawned quietly, still quite tired and surprised at his sudden awakening. However, he heard a quiet knock on the door, when he was sorting out his collar. Ciel assumed it was Sebastian. "Come in." He said calmly, before the door opened. However, to his surprise, it wasn't his servant. Instead, it was a small boy. "Oh, it's you Luka." Ciel said, slightly shocked. He fixed his collar, before looking towards Trancy's smaller brother.

"Can I speak to you, Ciel?" Luka asked, quietly. He was a pretty shy boy, that much was obvious, so Ciel assumed he had something important to say.

"Of course." Ciel responded, waiting for him to bring up the subject.  He headed over to the edge of his bed and took a seat, Luka coming over and jumping onto the large bed too.

"Jim didn't come to school yesterday. I didn't tell mum and dad, but... Is he okay? He's been... different since we got here." Luka asked quietly, his voice full of concern. He was different to his energetic demeanour. Ciel's face turned to realisation. Of course. Yesterday was Monday. And Alois had the incident with the razors, so it slipped his mind completely. Probably Alois' too. Ciel couldn't let him regularly skip days. It'd look suspicious, so he'd have to talk to Alois about it.

"He was ill yesterday, we had him stay in bed. He was unfit for school yesterday, but I'll go and speak to him when you've left, see if he's okay to go." Ciel explained, before frowning a little. "Why are you so concerned, anyways?" Ciel asked, raising an eyebrow as he watched Luka.

"I think Jim likes you. I'm nervous that he's going to be upset, because he thinks you don't like him too. And... He doesn't talk to me as much since we moved here. I miss talking to him, and spending time with him." Luka whined quietly, Ciel smiling a little. He wasn't usually good with children, but... He could stand this one. Just about.

"Alright Luka. I'll speak to him." Ciel promised, Luka smiling brightly. He gave Ciel a short hug, before jumping off the bed and dashing out of the room. Ciel wasn't a fan of hugs, that was obvious, but it was short enough. He didn't shove the boy away or complain. Once Luka had gone, he got off the bed. Sebastian would make it soon. Ciel left the room with his door slightly cracked open, before making his way through to Alois' room once again. The boy was halfway through getting changed, his shirt off and shorts on. Ciel opened the door, and Alois squeaked in surprise, covering his body with the shirt he was about to put on. Ciel's eyes widened and he looked away quickly.

"Jesus Ciel! Learn how to fucking knock!" Alois exclaimed, exasperated. His cheeks were a bright pink. Ciel's face was also going a different shade, and he scowled.

"Don't bother putting those clothes on. Put your uniform on, you're going to school." Ciel told him, Alois huffing quietly. "It'll look suspicious if you don't." He added, not looking back.

"It's fine Ciel, you can look. I've only got my shirt off at the moment. I know you wanna anyways...~" Alois giggled, Ciel now adamantly refusing to look.

"Piss off," Ciel scowled, before remembering the other thing Luka mentioned. "Oh, and spend more time with your family. I'm not the only one in this manor, Alois. Your brother and parents still want to spend time with you." Ciel told him, Alois frowning a little.

"Yeah, I know, I was thinking about that too... I'll speak to Luka today about it." Alois responded, before looking around the room. "I'll find my uniform and then I'll come out." He answered, Ciel nodding and shutting the door. He stood beside the doorway, leaning on the wall and waiting. He could still hear the talking, but he wasn't too certain it was Alois' parents now. It sounded... male. All of it. Of course, it could just be his father, but Ciel doubted it. Eventually, the door clicked open, and Alois left the room, dressed in the school's uniform.

"I think somebody is in the manor. Let's go look." Ciel told him, nodding down the hall. Alois' room was close to the staircase, so he could make out the voices better. Alois frowned, but nodded and followed Ciel. They headed down the stairs slowly, the voices slowly becoming more clear. Alois' eyes began to widen with shock and fury as he recognised the voices.

"It better fucking not be." Alois scowled, before hopping the last three of the steps and rushing to the living room doors. Alois swung them open with both hands, all heads in the room turning towards him.

"Oh good. The dead has risen." Canterbury laughed, Alois' eyes widening more at the fact they were talking.

"Absolutley not! All three of you, shut up!" Alois demanded quickly, the three not saying another word. Sebastian looked like he could jump for joy.

"Master Trancy, I doubt you'll hear this from me again, but thank you." Sebastian told him, genuinely grateful, before standing and walking over to Ciel. "Trancy's former servants are here. They are demons, but pose no threat. However, when they speak, you may feel certain violent urges." Sebastian explained, Ciel raising an eyebrow. Alois stared at the three, completely confused and shocked. Ciel slowly walked over to his side, frowning.

"Well... This will be fun." Ciel said sarcastically, with a sigh. Alois just watched them in shock, unsure what to do.


	26. That Butler, Confused

Alois had practically gone into shutdown mode. He was just staring at the three of them, not knowing what to say. Ciel watched him remain in that stunned silence for a good minute, before gently moving his hand to Alois' shoulder. "Uh... Alois. Are you going to do anything about this, or...?" Ciel asked him, Alois not looking over to Ciel. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but no words came out. Until Ciel squeezed his shoulder lightly as if to say, 'Out with it'.

"I need... Time to think. Wait until... Wait until I get back from school. Make sure they're silent whilst I'm gone today. I don't... Yeah." Alois murmured, before turning around and waling away. This was too much for him. Now that the initial anger had gone, he was just... confused. And annoyed. Alois wouldn't speak to anybody for a little while, he needed some time to process this. Ciel eyed up the three servants, who sat there supposedly innocently. Ciel narrowed his eye and turned slowly, a look of disbelief on his face. Sebastian met his gaze, tilting his head curiously. Alois had wandered off somewhere, likely to just wait until they were ready to go.

"Can I ask, Sebastian?" Ciel began, before beginning to walk towards Sebastian. Sebastian just waited for Ciel's next words with a puzzled glance. "What the fuck were you thinking?!" Ciel exclaimed, his expression turning to that of anger. One of the triplets could be heard letting out a quiet snicker at Ciel's sudden outburst, but didn't do much else. Sebastian opened his mouth to speak, but Ciel kept going. "You let in these three? You seriously believed it would okay to let three prominant figures from Alois' last life into the manor, where Alois could just casually stumble across them?!" Ciel shouted, but quietly. He made sure nobody else would hear, but Ciel's anger was clear. His eyebrows were furrowed, and his glare was intense. Ciel cared about this. "You've seen how fragile he is, and you didn't even take this into account, did you?" Ciel hissed, Sebastian unsure how to respond.

"Young master, I..." Sebastian began, frowning. "I did not believe it would have any effect on him. I would not worry so much, young mast-..." Sebastian was interrupted by Ciel reaching up and grabbing his collar, yanking him down so he was face-to-face with Ciel.

"If anything- and I mean anything- happens with Alois, it is on _you_." Ciel warned, his tone quiet and serious now. "Maybe you don't care for him, but as you mentioned before, the preferable outcome is his recovery. That means being nice. And pleasant." Ciel excused himself, to make it seem like he was only doing this for himself. Ciel clearly wasn't, but he would never admit that. He couldn't admit he had an attraction, it was weak. "It also means not bringing up touchy subjects around him, but you dragged in three very sensitive subjects!" Ciel scowled, exasperated. He rubbed his temples, having let go of Sebastian, and spoke again. He had figured out how to get to Sebastian. "If Alois does anything rash because of this, I will order you to kill every cat you come across." Ciel threatened, Sebastian's eyes widening. Ciel didn't care for cats, but he didn't want to kill them. It was just a spur of the moment thing, and he knew the threat would get to Sebastian anyways.

"Yes, young master." Sebastian eventually responded, after a few seconds of silence. Ciel turned around and looked back to the triplets, narrowing his eye again. He had an idea. A helpful one. Sebastian began to proceed out of the hallway, off to complete his chores and wake the sleeping members of the household. However, Ciel grabbed his sleeve without looking.

"Make sure my schedule is clear until 1300. Push anything back if you must. I will work late if something requires my attention." Ciel ordered, Sebastian nodding and watching Ciel with worry. It was concerning, the way he was staring at the triplets. But, he had a job to do now.

"Right away." Sebastian assured Ciel, the boy letting go of his sleeve. Ciel headed into the sitting room, closing both doors slowly, before turning around and facing the three. The triplets all watched his with amusement, Ciel just taking a breath.

"Okay then. You three, come with me. You can talk to me, and I won't let Alois know that you've been talking. But only about what I wish you to." Ciel demanded, the three all sharing a look. "Tell me..." Ciel began, swallowing down his pride for this. "Come to my study, and tell me everything you know about Alois." Ciel ordered, the triplets all suddenly smirking. Ciel didn't know if he'd regret this, but he needed to know more, for... For safety. That was what he would tell himself.

* * *

Alois looked down at his plate with disgust. What even was this? This... slop. He had gotten used to the delicious food Ciel's cooks served, and he was starting to regain his spoiled attitude. After missing one day of school, he almost forgot how bad the food they served here was. It was vile, and Alois would rather starve than eat it. He didn't go to the same school as Luka, of course, his brother was younger. And still attended a primary school, whereas Alois was in secondary. They were just driven together. So, Alois tended to sit alone. Even before being reminded of the 'Alois' life, he didn't make many friends. Jim never found anybody desirable to hang around with. So, he always sat alone. It was no different today. Alois shook his head slowly, looking at the food. "Not a chance in Hell." Alois turned his nose up, dropping his cutlery onto his tray and pushing it away. In reality, the food wasn't that bad, but it was awful compared to the food he ate regularly now. Alois wouldn't touch it, there was no chance. As Alois looking around the dining hall, he realised something. Alois had to try and behave normal here. Having a sudden personality switch would look odd, but then again; It wasn't like anybody watched him. Other than the teachers, of course. Alois just stared at the food, before deciding it wasn't worth it. He wasn't going to touch that food, for fear of contracting some sort of disease. Alois sighed, before hearing a voice behind him.

"Jim? Are you doing alright, Jim, are you ill?" Came a voice. An English teacher. Alois' noise wrinkled at the name. He hated it. Why couldn't he just be called Alois? "I don't mean to intrude, but you usually eat and leave for the library pretty quickly." She observed, Alois opening his mouth to speak. However, when she rested a hand on his shoulder, Alois felt an unpleasant shiver crawl down his spine. He didn't like feeling an adult's hand on him. It made him freeze up, and Alois' eyes widened slightly. He was almost trembling, and a whirlwind of emotions was bubbling to the surface.

"Get your hand off me." Alois demanded, not turning to face her. The English teacher quickly took her hand away, gasping quietly. She frowned. That wasn't how Jim usually behaved. Alois didn't say anything else, and the English teacher slowly began to back off. She just assumed that he wasn't feeling the best and wanted to be left alone. Alois relaxed a little when he heard her back off, closing his eyes and sighing. Alois propped his elbow up on the table, leaning on his palm. He didn't understand why he reacted like that, but at the same time, he knew. Alois had to confront his fears about that, but... Not now. Alois didn't want to think about that old man's rough hands, and his awful smile. 


	27. That Butler, Happy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy 2019 everybody! I've decided to come back and finish this, so yes, this will be the final chapter. I apologise for keeping everybody waiting for so long, but hopefully, with this, I will be able to move forward and work on new things. I imagine this will feel anti-climactic. I realised that before, I was simply trying to do too much. I have my own personal, unique things that I'm writing, and I feel as if my priority should be those. However, I made a promise that I was going to finish this, and I will not ignore that. So, instead of trying to write another ten or twenty chapters, I'll attempt to complete the story I've been trying to tell, with 100% of my effort put into this final chapter. And who knows? Perhaps there'll be some continuation of this AU in another fic I decide to write. Thank you for waiting so patiently. I hope you all enjoy.

Ciel was conflicted. He wanted to speak with the triplets about Alois, but it felt... Sly. Wrong. Morally wrong. Ciel felt as if he was intruding on Alois' life, by asking his old servants about him. And now that Ciel was sat inside his study with the three demons before him, he no longer felt the urge to know more. Instead, he was met with a dilemma. What was he going to do with them? Ciel had been torn apart by this entire ordeal. Alois returning was a lot to handle. And now, even more figures from his past were returning. Ciel couldn't just abuse that, could he? He couldn't just simply bend them to his will? Well, it was what he would've done before. So now, why was it such an issue to him? Why, when he looked upon the faces of the three, was all he felt guilt? What was the issue? What had he done wrong? Ciel's fists clenched with anger or frustration, he couldn't quite decide. What was happening to him? He was becoming some sort of sentimental fool. And he didn't want that to happen. He wanted to be strong. To be the demon he was supposed to be. Goddamn that boy. And the way he could chip away at Ciel's cold exterior. Ciel wasn't going to sit here and use Alois' old servants to figure out more about him. That was wrong. And he refused to do it. In fact, he refused to have them here. He refused to deal with them. To put up with any of this shit. He didn't want his mind to be conflicted, to be constantly torn. Alois had proven himself to not be a threat, at this point. That wasn't to say he couldn't evolve into one as time continued its march onwards, but at least at the moment, in the here and now... Alois was not a threat to Ciel. No matter what way Ciel looked at it, he couldn't come to the conclusion that Alois meant him harm. And he certainly couldn't ignore the feelings which kept resurfacing in his mind. He wasn't sure exactly why they were in his head to begin with, but they were inavoidable at this point. Ciel had to admit that which was eating him up inside. He had feelings for Alois. Strong feelings. The kind of which he had not experienced in a very, very long time indeed. Ciel would even go as far as to say that his feelings towards Elizabeth were not this strong. So, Ciel made a decision. Almost like a breakthrough, like a 'eureka' moment. He wasn't entirely sure as to why, but upon mentally making the choice, his eyes began to sting, almost as if tears threatened to make an appearance. But that was foolish. So, he closed his eyes and took in a short breath, trying to calm the whirlwind of emotions he was currently experiencing. The triplets looked confused, but Ciel cared not for their feelings. He rose to his feet, from his chair. "Get out of my manor. Get out and never return, never so much as look at my property again." Ciel demanded, shocking the three. Cantebury opened his mouth to answer back, but Ciel was quick to continue. "Do _not_ answer me back, or else I shall have you all killed. You are to never again return, and you are to _never_ approach Alois again. If I ever hear of such an interaction, I'll make you suffer a pain that makes you _wish_ that I had killed you. Go on. Out!" Ciel demanded, his anger rising to a head. The triplets decided not to protest. So, Ciel was glad he could still be intimidating. And intimidating demons was impressive, he was rather pleased about that. Sebastian entered the room rather quickly, with an amused smile.

"Well done, young master. I don't think they'll be showing their faces around here anytime soon." Sebastian chuckled, with a smirk on his lips.

"Shut it. If it weren't for you, they never would've been in here in the first place." Ciel noted, Sebastian going silent. "Now, I want you to listen to me carefully. I'm going to be arranging something this evening, so I want Alois' family taken care of. Take them out for a drive, or somewhere interesting. Just make sure the manor is empty for when Alois returns home from school. And that Luka doesn't come to the manor, and instead, joins his family. I'll be giving orders out to the other servants also, making sure that the manor is prepared." Ciel ordered Sebastian, clearly scheming something.

"Oh? What do you have in mind?" Sebastian questioned, seemingly amused by Ciel's attitude.

"None of your bloody business. Now go on, get out. You have your orders." Ciel demanded, before watching Sebastian leave. As he did so, Ciel let out a quiet sigh of relief. Well... He'd gotten rid of one issue. Now it was just time to solve the other issues that remained. And Ciel was planning just that.

* * *

Alois wasn't too bothered about school at the moment. Only an hour left until the bell rang and he was released from this hellhole. He couldn't help but wonder if his old memories returning was truly a good thing. He got a second chance at life, with a genuine, real family. And when his memories came back, he was suddenly no longer focused on that. Instead, his focus was on Ciel. And, sure, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, Alois was quite happy with Ciel. He had strong feelings for him. But he didn't want to lose his family either. He didn't want to lose anybody, and he felt as if Alois was taking over, rather than letting Jim control the body. He was just so torn. So fed up with having two lives. Two personalities, constantly at war and battling one another. It left Alois with a milder personality of course, but also with constantly conflicting viewpoints. He knew his mind was fighting itself. That was possibly the worst part. He and Alois were two different entities entirely, with different lives. And trying to force them together, in this one body, was only causing damage. Jim needed to find some middle ground with Alois. And he believed he could. Maybe, just maybe, that middle ground could be Ciel. Both had an attachment to him. As much as Jim wished he could say that it was only Alois who cared about Ciel, he couldn't. As soon as he met him, at the ruins of the Trancy manor, he was stricken. Ciel was both physically attractive and somebody Jim genuinely wanted to spend time with. So, there was some common ground, at least. Alois had an obsession, and Jim had a crush. ...Perhaps this was for the worst though. Viewing Alois and Jim as two seperate entities could have been causing as much harm alone. Just the mere thought could be the issue. But Jim couldn't stop thinking about it, considering it, in a way. But it didn't matter. He was going to get through it. No matter what he had to do. He wouldn't give up. Because Ciel didn't want him to.

Alois noticed that the driver was late today. It also wasn't the same car as what the driver usually drove. Luka wasn't in the car either. Which was particularly odd, because he always finished school before Alois, and was always in the car when the driver arrived. Apparently, he was staying for a club or something, according to the driver. It didn't sound too far-fetched, but when that was combined with everything else... It made Alois suspicious. He wasn't sure what it was, but something was off. Something was different. But he couldn't quite put his finger on it. When they eventually arrived back at the manor, Alois was even more concerned. All the curtains were drawn, and Alois couldn't see inside. "The young master is waiting for you." The driver commented, Alois frowning. He slowly got out of the car, the driver promptly leaving. That wasn't what he usually did, he usually pulled up into the garages. Alois was nervous now. And wasn't sure what he was going to see when he entered the manor. With his bag lazily slung over one shoulder, he entered the manor cautiously. Alois didn't call out a name, or speak. He was just going to enter silently. And when he got inside... Not much had changed. Well, there was no electrical lighting on, whatsoever. Instead, candles were scattered about. How... _romantic._ It was strange, sure, but not scary. Alois narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He dumped his school bag by the door, deciding to just follow the direction the candles seemed to point. The dining room. Sure enough, when Alois reached the doorway, he saw Ciel inside. Stood beside the table, which had a lot of different foods on top of it. Like a buffet. And Ciel looked... Sweet. He wasn't wearing his eyepatch. He had a traditional Victorian outfit on. A blue shirt, that matched the shade of his eyes. Dark blue shorts. A light blue vest. And his hair was styled. In all honestly, Ciel was... stunning. Adorable. Alois had to do a double-take.

"...I-" Was all Alois managed to force out for a moment, before looking around. "Is this real?" Alois questioned, his eyes wide.

"It is." Ciel answered simply, a smile on his face. He stopped leaning on the table, taking a few steps towards Alois. "Go get changed out of your uniform. There are some clothes on your bed that are... fitting for the occasion." Ciel explained, without actually explaining anything whatsoever. All of a sudden, the door was closed in Alois' face. He blinked rapidly, rather confused.

"And what occasion would that be, exactly?" Alois asked under his breath, not expecting any sort of answer. His expression was comparable to a deer caught in headlights; just complete shock. Alois wasn't exactly sure what was happening, but did it matter? No. He was excited. Ciel had dimmed the light of the manor, and made it strangely peaceful. Knowing that it was just himself and Ciel in the manor filled Alois with a sort of serenity. Alois tried to calmly make his way up the stairs, but practically raced up them. His mind continued to spin, attempting to decipher the situation. But no matter what way he looked at it, there was no other conclusion. This felt as if it was supposed to be romantic. When Alois arrived at his room, he was met with something of a shock. Upon opening the door, he saw the clothes Ciel was speaking of. They were identical to his old clothes. Perfectly identitical. Alois felt his eyes beginning to tear up a little, the clothes bringing back so many memories, both painful and fantastical. A purple jacket, a green vest and a white shirt. Wonderful knee-high boots, and thigh-high socks. And of course, some incredibly short shorts. As Alois looked at the clothes, he was speechless. It was his favourite outfit. And he was so thankful that Ciel had bought it for him. Without wasting another moment, Alois quickly put on the clothes.

* * *

Oh God. Oh God, what was Ciel doing? He was so nervous! So terrified! How did he manage to play that off so calmly? As he heard Alois' footsteps retreating, he let out a quiet sigh of relief. Jesus. He felt like he was on the verge of having an asthma attack. This was so awfully nerve-wracking. Ciel had been planning this all day, and even cancelled everything he was supposed to be doing this evening for it. But for what, exactly? Ciel wasn't entirely sure as to what the plan was here. The original plan was to sit down with Alois, eat and speak. And then whilst they were speaking, he would confess his feelings. Although, Ciel hadn't counted on this being that stressful. However, there was another emotion that Ciel was experiencing. It wasn't quite as prominant as the anxiety, but it was there. Excitement. Ciel was genuinely excited to do this. He was almost certain that Alois felt the same way, which made him happy, and relieved a slight bit of stress. But the doubts were of course there anyways. Ciel took a seat, deciding to just try and calm himself for a few minutes. After a couple of minutes had passed, a sudden resolve passed over Ciel. He had to do this. No matter what. Ciel wanted to show Alois how much he cared, and how... good Alois made him feel. Ciel hadn't felt this happy in over a century. It certainly was foolish, but Ciel didn't know what else to say. He never expected to be going for a boy, let alone Alois. But. He was happy. Although currently, he was just very, _very_ nervous. Eventually, there was a knock at the door. Ciel took in a slow breath, preparing himself. He could do this. "Come in, Alois." Ciel spoke clearly, the door opening rather quickly. And sure enough, there was Alois, with a large smirk on his face. He looked incredible. Amazing. Handsome. Hot. Ciel felt his own cheeks darken slightly, and had to look away. "Do you like them?" Ciel asked, after a moment. 

"Like them? Ciel, I love them! I can't believe you managed to get these! Thank you!" Alois exclaimed, trying to express his gratitude. Ciel laughed quietly, nodding slowly.

"It's alright, Alois. They certainly weren't easy to get." Ciel responded, before clearing his throat and gesturing to the other chairs. "Come on and help yourself! Sit wherever you please, eat whatever you wish. It's just you and I, Trancy." Ciel told him, with a small, genuine smile. Alois once more narrowed his eyes, Ciel only able to imagine what sort of thoughts were going through Alois' head. Alois, of course, sat down right next to Ciel, which Ciel was both happy about and terrified by.

"Right. And why exactly is it just you and I? Why in God's name did you do all this?" Alois questioned, but was clearly happy about it all.

"All in due time, Alois. For now, why don't we just eat? I made sure all the best ingredients were used." Ciel promised, before grabbing a plate for them both. Both boys began to take different foods, knowing full well neither would finish what they were putting on their plates. Either way, the food never went to waste. Somebody always ended up eating the leftovers.

"What happened with the triplets?" Alois asked, scooping up some cake onto his plate.

"Gone. And they'll never come back, so don't worry about them." Ciel told Alois, with a smile on his face. Alois let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Ciel. I'm not entirely sure if I'd be able to handle them." Alois murmured, as he moved back to his seat. Ciel did the same, having mostly put sweets on his plate. Now that he didn't have to worry about human issues, his sweet tooth was eternally grateful. Ciel could eat whatever without worrying about his health. And he assumed the same was for Alois. When Ciel took his seat beside Alois, he couldn't help but grin. Alois always had something distinct about him. And one thing was his scent. Even over a hundred years later, the boy still had that sweet smell around him. And although it used to bug Ciel, it'd grown on him. And he always associated sweet smells with Alois now. It was strange, but... He really was infatuated. Both boys ate, engaging in small talk. But that was okay. Because there was no need for either to speak, and both were just enjoying the other's company.

Eventually, Alois pushed away his plate, making it clear he was done for the evening. They'd been sat, idly speaking and eating for perhaps two hours. It certainly felt nothing like that. So, Ciel pushed away his plate too, and prepared himself. Here it was. The moment he'd been building up to all day. "You know, our lives are strange. Very strange," Ciel began, with a small smile on his face. "A long time ago, we wanted to kill each other. And well... One of us did get killed. Both of us, if you want to be technical about it. Because now, after all that time... I'd say we're both different people. And whilst I can't exactly pinpoint what it is, you've changed. And thus, my feelings towards you have changed. This entire ordeal, it's a cursed one. You were resurrected to kill me, and yet, neither of us want that. I suppose at this point I'm just avoiding saying what I must, but--" Ciel continued on, but he was interrupted.

"I can't tell you how many times I've gone through this speech in my own head. How many times I've contemplated saying it, how many times I've changed it, or hated it, or thought it was stupid. Ciel, I know this speech. I know it because I've tried to say it. But I never had the confidence." Alois laughed quietly, his eyes beginning to tear up. "So, yes, Ciel. I feel the same way about you. Truthfully. And I want nothing more than to be with you." Alois confessed before Ciel even had the chance, placing a hand onto Ciel's leg. Ciel felt... outdone.

"You just beat me to my own confession." Ciel scoffed, raising an amused eyebrow. Alois chuckled slightly. "That won't do at all. I'll have to one-up you." Ciel sighed. Before Alois even had a chance to respond, he found Ciel's lips pressed against his. Alois' eyes were wide for a moment, so much so that he believed they'd fall out his skull, but they fluttered closed after a second or so. Ciel wrapped his arms around Alois' neck, almost dangling off the other as they kissed. It was... inexperienced. But it was passionate, and messy. And neither would've traded their first kiss for anything else. When Alois broke the kiss for breath, it appeared both were unable to speak. In a daze like mindset. After a few seconds of just staring at one another passed, Alois spoke. But it wasn't what Ciel was expecting.

"Can you make Faustian contracts? Like Sebastian did with you?" Alois questioned. Ciel's eyebrows furrowed and he pulled away.

"He's shown me how to, but I've never created one before. Why?" Ciel countered, seemingly upset at the sudden shift in mood.

"Ciel- Make me into a demon, like you." Alois pleaded, Ciel's eyes widening.

"Wha-What?!" Ciel exclaimed, his eyes widening.

"Yeah, do it! Then, I won't be an angel anymore. And He will have no control over me. I won't be forced to hurt you, ever. And I won't be forced to hurt anybody. And we... Well, we can be together. Forever." Alois explained, his cheeks darkening a little. Ciel went silent for a couple of seconds, before speaking.

"Are you... Are you sure?" Ciel asked, raising an eyebrow. Alois paused a moment, before nodding.

"Completely certain. I want to be with you Ciel," Alois told him. "I think I love you." Alois whispered. Ciel didn't respond for a moment. It was a heavy claim.

"I think I love you too, Alois." Ciel responded, with a smile.

 

**THE END**


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